A New Love and an Old Foe
by Tomthebutcher
Summary: Naruto returns home and begins the final steps of his life's master plan. NaruHina and Sasuke punished. Don't lie, you know you want it too.
1. Prologue and Return

The following series of events take place after the Fourth Great Shinobi World War. At the epicenter of the war, the original Kage Summit that it was announced at, became not only ground zero to its end but also the place where the shrine was built to honor those invaluable to bringing its end and those lost during those battle ravaged times. Among the heroes of the war, the names of many Konohagakure ninja were listed: Kakashi Hatake; Shikamaru Nara; Neji Hyuuga; Sakura Haruno; Shino Aburame; and Naruto Uzumaki. Many more from Konoha died in battle and were greatly missed.

However, turbulent times such as these not only bring grief and the gongs of funeral bells, but also great happiness with the chimes of wedding bells, as all wars of its magnitude do. Shikamaru and Temari of the Sand; Kakashi and Anko Mitarashi (before their deaths in battle); Rock Lee and Sakura; Neji and Tenten; Ino Yamanaka and Sai (deceased); all got married and many of which now have children.

During the final battle of the war called "The Battle at Shinobi Mountain", Naruto and Sasuke finally had their showdown. At an astoundingly even match, the two had worn each other down to their very end, even barely able to commit to their respective forms of taijutsu. Not much of the landscape surrounding the summit remained in its original form, the two, now, men with their clothes and bodies in tatters looked into each other's eyes reflecting both burning hate and somber grief back at each other. It was Sakura who dealt the final blow, showing up at the very last moment, to the surprise of both rivals. Sasuke's final words to them on that day were: "I promise, you will both see that village burn to the ground, just as you and all of your friends' lives will burn!" Naruto and Sakura left Sasuke still breathing, but barely what most would call "alive."

Seven years passed and Naruto no longer felt the weight of his scorned friendship. Along with the other Konoha eleven, he had decided that if Sasuke should return looking for revenge again, he would not bear that burden alone. With this freedom came an eagerness for life even the number-one knuckle-headed ninja had not known before. Now known throughout the village as a hero and great shinobi, he no longer unconsciously saw any one person as a part of the crowd that he wanted to prove himself to. He now saw people as both a part of the community and as an individual. Naruto found himself constantly re-introduced to many of his old friends, the one he looked forward to seeing the most: Hinata Hyuuga.

It all began after the war, during which Naruto and Hinata had been separated by entire nations nearly throughout the conflict. Just before the war started Hinata had confessed her love for him while trying to rescue him from Pain. This had shocked him because up to that moment he had been oblivious to her feelings for him. He wanted to talk to her after the battle but she had been unconscious in the hospital for days, by which time mention of Sasuke's presence abroad led him away from his would-be date and he wouldn't see Hinata again for seven years. After the war ended and all Konoha ninja were called home, they were on their way.

While it was now clear to all that Naruto was regularly on Hinata's mind, few knew that what Hinata said had reached his thoughts often too. When all of the Konoha ninja returned, the entire village celebrated. He walked through the crowds, occasionally putting up with being carried on others' shoulders. He found it all to be like a dream, and his mind had been preoccupied with thoughts of the title of Hokage being just within his grasp, until he saw her.

The sea of people seemed to open up for him in that instant, and in the corner of his eye he caught the tiniest glimpse of long, dark blue hair. This was something he regularly saw in his dreams, although entirely a phenomenal occurrence to him. She stood across the street from him and for that one instant when the crowd gifted him with the clear path of sight he almost didn't recognize her. She wore a short, white dress kimono with orange flowers all over it and the formal okobos, which many of the higher-class women wore. Much of her hair was neatly tied up in a bun on top of her head; a few lucky strands had escaped the prison he longed to free them all from.

Hinata was talking to Kiba and Shino when she too looked across that fateful window and saw the man she had wanted to see for so many years. Over time she had often fantasized of what he might look like after what she felt was eons of time had passed. Just the two years he spent away with his master Jiraiya had drastically changed his appearance into something less of a man and more of a god, so what could more than seven years do?

She spotted a shade of yellow that she had not seen in ages and recognized it immediately. The geta, or wooden sandals, the man wore as his master did before him made him look older, wiser and experienced in battle. The long coat his father, the Fourth Hokage, traditionally wore hung down to his feet where the fire design flared, and the gi, which sported the Whirlpool Nation's crest, rested easily over his muscular body. An ache took over her body which long ago was simply too strong for her mind and would cause her to pass out, on this night it gave an older and wiser Hinata one hell of a head rush. She glanced up to catch a glimpse of the eyes in which she could either dive into and swim for an eternity, or fly straight through and never have to look back. When her gaze reached its destination she found that the sea and the sky were both already looking her way. Their eyes met for that instant and both so thoroughly and quickly blushed it's hard to imagine there was blood left for their toes.

The curtain of people immediately closed back up and both parties slapped their hands to their mouths and dropped down, crouched below the crowd. Both had expected that they might get to see one another at the celebration, but neither imagined that they would be caught checking the other out. Kama, the son of Kakashi Hatake and Anko Mitarashi and pupil of Naruto stared at his Jinchuuriki master.

"What happened sensei, did you stub your toe?" he asked, "Or did you see that pretty girl too?" A suggestive and devious smirk crept across his face.

Kama had been under Naruto's supervision since he was two years old, after Kakashi's death, early on in the war. His mother had been sick for a long time before she and Kakashi publicly admitted to their relationship. They were both very private people, but with Anko in the hospital on a regular basis, they knew it would be discovered eventually. Anko gave in to the disease which had afflicted her a year after Kama was born. Another year later Kakashi died at one of the most important battles in the war. Naruto had since taken to training Kama and teaching him as Kakashi-sensei had taught him. Naruto played both the role of father and teacher to Kama, to keep his promise to the Copycat Ninja.

Naruto took a deep breath, stood up with his chest out and composed himself. "Kama, you go and order some ramen for me. I'll be right in."

"Ooooooh! So I was right!" Kama beamed, "Do you know who she is?" He then did an impression of Hinata's stance, hand on hip, and puckered his lips, making kissing noises. "You should go and talk to her! Or better yet, I'll go and bring her over here, just wait here sensei." Kama then began to march as though he had been sent on a mission.

"KA-MA-HA-TA-KE…!" Naruto's face of stone appeared terrifying inches in front of Kama's, the boy then turned and ran for his life.

Across the street Kiba and Shino stared at their teammate who had just frozen midsentence, looked into the crowd for a short moment and then nose-dived into fetal position.

"Hey! What was that Hinata? Last time I saw you do stuff like that was whenever Naruto was… wait." Kiba lifted his nose into the air and sniffed twice. "NARUTO!" He shouted in excitement then jumped on top of Akamaru's back to see over the crowd. "Hey, Naruto! Get your ass over here! I… _We_ haven't seen you in forever!"

Shino stood next to Kiba, physically unperturbed, but secretly looking forward to the reunion. He hoped that Naruto might recognize him firsthand this time. As an Aburame, he would not make it easy for the Uzumaki.

"Kiba-kun… do not embarrass me, please." Hinata begged.

Kiba then shouted over to Naruto in a suggestive tone: "And _Hinata_'s over here! –OOF!"

A swift and stern jab to his stomach from an agitated Hinata knocked Kiba down, and Naruto mysteriously walked out of the forest behind them and helped him up. Shino couldn't help but notice that Naruto's demeanor had changed drastically from the last time he had seen him. He looked heroic and almost regal in his composure. Kiba's nose said otherwise. Naruto was nervous on the inside. But he hid this quite well, Kiba noted.

"It _has_ been a long time hasn't it Kiba? I assume you didn't get _all_ of those scars just from Hinata did you? You must have seen quite a number of battles out there." Naruto grinned, still unable to turn towards Hinata.

"HA! Hinata just wanted to be the first to call you over and I took all the glory, isn't that right Hinata?" Kiba smirked across Naruto to the anxious woman.

"Good to see you again, Naruto," said Shino. Unfortunately for the oftentimes dim-witted ninja, Shino looked just as familiar as a new jacket _could_ look. Naruto stared at the man who stood before him pensively, rubbing his chin with his fingers.

"Let's see… Let's see… Do I know you?" Naruto questioned.

Shino dropped his head, "Naruto, you recognized-" Naruto cut Shino off with an explosion of laughter:

"Baka! Of course I remember you Shino! What kind of comrade would I be if I didn't?" Naruto laughed as Shino's depressed, sulkiness evaporated back to… regular jacket and goggles.

A giggle from behind Naruto diverted his attention once more, "Do you recognize me, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto turned to see the beautiful, lavender-eyed princess to his right, "Undoubtedly, Hinata." They locked their gaze together for what seemed to them only an instant, but to Kiba and Akamaru, an eternity of awkward silence. Shino stared off towards the market.

Akamaru whined to Kiba, "Ha-ha! Well, we gotta get goin', Akamaru's hungry. Shino, I bet Shikamaru, Lee, and Sakura are back as well. Let's go say 'hey.' See-ya 'round Naruto, see _you_ _later_ Hinata!" Shino nodded his head in agreement and then bowed graciously to Naruto and Hinata, then was on his way. Halfway through his step Shino turned back around and asked in a serious tone: "By the way, Naruto, why do you have clones surveying the perimeters?"

The trance was broken when Naruto looked over to Shino and Kiba, both clearly aware of the dozens of his kage bunshin in the forest, and then gazed at the night sky pensively. He gave the shortest possible answer: "Well, I guess… old habits from the war, you know?"

With that Kiba, his monstrous wolf, and Shino were off, leaving the two alone. Hinata became brutally aware of that when she felt Naruto catch her staring at his bare chest presented by the gi. This would have been less embarrassing for her if she had known that Naruto thought he had just been caught running his eyes up and down her curvy body as well. The two blushed and looked down and then into each other's eyes again, hypnotized for a second time. Before long Naruto spoke… barely.

"It's.. uh… good to see you got out alright. I mean, I was worried about you, -AHEM!- er… you're looking good… good to see you doing okay… Hinata." He stumbled over just about every word.

Hinata took a breath remembering her new courage, "Thank you Naruto-kun, you look handsome tonight as well. Oh! And congratulations on your victories in the war, I hear that without you we couldn't have made it through." Hinata smiled graciously, trying to peer into his eyes again, but Naruto had his head down to hide his blushing.

"Thank you Hinata… uh, walk with me, it's too loud and crowded around here," Naruto's obvious attempt at a heroic voice.

Hinata giggled silently, "Okay, follow me." Hinata took Naruto by his hand, thoroughly surprising him, and lead him through the crowd. Naruto couldn't help but notice the softness of the kunoichi's fingers, and the warmth of her palm. It sent a tingle up his spine and turned his stomach into jelly.

Hinata's heart rushed at the touch of Naruto's hand, tough and calloused, yet warm and strangely invigorating at the same time. Once outside of the markets, they walked side by side, both secretly wishing that the crowd had been larger. Naruto had managed to compose himself once again, and would share subtle, flirtatious looks with his company in silence for most of the midnight stroll. Then they both swayed from the looks that were quickly becoming dangerous and let their minds wander.

"Hinata, I can_not_ tell you how much I missed this place while I was gone. After Pain attacked Konoha, I was afraid to come back." Naruto smiled, fearing what he had just said might be misinterpreted. Before he could further explain Hinata replied.

"Oh… well, I guess I understand…" Hinata frowned and sank back down from her excitement.

"No, I mean…" Naruto jumped in, "I mean I was afraid to come back because if I did I might endanger everyone's lives again. Everyone I cared for…" Naruto considered his next words twice over, fearing her response after seven years, "Especially you, Hinata."


	2. The Walk Home

The Hyuuga member was delightfully surprised, but tried not to show too much of her reinvigorated mood. "Oh?" The blushing smile gave it all away. _You really have grown into quite a man, Naruto-kun,_ Hinata thought to herself.

By then they had found themselves already standing at the gates of the Hyuuga compound. Naruto gazed down into lavender eyes that went from sweet lavender, to a serious pale white, then to a deadly and intense white in an instant. The Byakugan was activated and Hinata pulled a kunai out from within her short dress. _Dear God where did it come from?_ Naruto thought while simultaneously ducking down for her to block the shuriken and kunai that came from the forest behind him.

An explosive tag tied to the kunai went off yards away from them and one final kunai flew through the smoke and zipped right between their two faces, and neither ninja even blinked when it did so, both stared on in the direction it came from. Naruto conjured up two kage bunshin and they ran into the forest, to pursue the attacker. Naruto looked to her and waited for her conclusion, his eyes were no match to the Hyuuga family's bloodline limit.

"Shadow clone." She informed him. "It only wanted to deliver that message." She said, still staring off into the forest. _Although you never can tell which way they are looking when the white-eyes are activated_, Naruto thought to himself. He pulled the kunai from the wooden post it had been lodged in and read the note attached to it in silence.

Naruto grunted, then looked back up into the darkness. "I'm sorry Hinata, but we will have to continue this walk tomorrow morning. That is, if you would allow me to walk you to the Academy tomorrow, I know you've taken over Iruka sensei's position there." Naruto said with a kind voice and a stern face, looking off into the dense forest. "Don't worry, he's not interested in you, he's only looking for me."

"Yes…" Hinata replied still searching in the forest and finally concluding that wherever the original is, it isn't anywhere near here. "Yes Naruto-kun! I would like that very much!" She finally released the byakugan and smiled gleefully to the man.

Naruto summoned a toad, placed the letter in the toad's mouth then the toad disappeared. The Jinchuuriki smiled at Hinata with an abundance of excitement, "Okay then, it's settled, tomorrow morning! Goodnight Hinata!" Naruto said right before he 'poofed' away in a cloud of smoke, revealing that he was a clone all along. Hinata shined a comforted smile and whispered, "Goodnight Naruto… watashi no ai."

Elsewhere, the original Naruto sat in Ichiraku's with his student enjoying some ramen when a toad was reverse-summoned to his feet. Naruto looked down at the toad, took the letter from its mouth and unfolded it. After reading the note Naruto turned around in his chair and stared into the forest pensively. It was then that his clone with Hinata had disappeared and the hour he spent with her came to him. He put the letter away and looked towards the Hyuuga compound. When he recalled how many times he had stuttered when talking with her, he whispered to himself, "I am such a loser." His shoulder's dropped and his aura was filled with disappointment.


	3. Requirements

Kama then began to snicker, "Hee-hee-hee! So you went and talked to her after all, huh Sempai?"

Naruto's mood jump-started itself as he laughed, and looked at his student with endearment, "You know Kama, you are just as skilled an observer as your father was, maybe even more so."

Kama beamed up to Naruto, "Really? Was he really that great?"

A confused expression overcame Naruto, "Haven't I told you about your father before?"

"Only little bits, all I ever hear is 'Copycat Kakashi' this and 'Son of the White Fang' that. Tell me what he was like! What kind of ninja he was, what jutsu he used! What did he look like?"

Naruto began scratching the back of his neck, "Actually, I never got around to seeing his face. He kept it covered at all times." Naruto laughed awkwardly, knowing this answer would not be enough. _We might be up all night doing this,_ Naruto worried.

"_Nani?_ He was your teacher and you never saw his face?"

"Well, he had a strange way about things. I had an opportunity when he… at the end, but by then I liked the mystery, and apparently he liked it that way too. Although, whenever his face was revealed to anybody else, it looked like they fell in love with him instantly, so I imagine you look more like your mother." Naruto teased. The truth was, he had a good idea what Kakashi's face looked like _because_ people had that same reaction whenever they saw Kama. He could see his sensei's face in Kama all the time.

"You're one to talk, you wouldn't even go to talk to that lady yourself, you had to send one of your shadow clones to do the work for you." Kama retorted.

A fist came bashing down on Kama's head, "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU? IT'S THE SAME THING!" Naruto exploded. Kama mumbled something under his breath after collecting himself. Calming down, Naruto informed Kama on the new schedule, "Tomorrow, Kama, you will meet another former student of mine, Konohamaru Sarutobi, he will instruct you on your next jutsu. I expect you to be on your best behavior."

"Ooooooooh? Why is that Naruto-sama, got a date?" Kama pried. Kama saw the fist coming down this time but by then it was too late to move. Naruto's fist went straight through the boy as his shadow clone 'poofed' away.

Naruto smirked, _He's a very skilled ninja, and a quick learner too, like his father,_ he thought.

Naruto returned to his favorite meal and felt as though he was being watched. He scanned the restaurant with his peripherals and saw that the bar was empty except Tenten and some ANBU operative with a mask resembling a bear sitting at the other end.

"Oy, Tenten? How have you been?" Naruto asked, looking to start conversation with a fellow leaf ninja who he had rarely spoken to.

"Naruto! Congratulations on the war! Neji and I were always listening for news on your advances in the field. I'm fine, I didn't really see a lot of battle, I mostly staid in Konoha and trained the students at the academy, but now I have my own platoon!" Tenten smiled in pride.

Naruto looked pleased with this, _One question and she gives six answers, now I remember why I avoided her…_ he thought to himself. "That's good Tenten, Neji must be proud of you. Speaking of Neji, I heard you two got married a year or two back, where is he now?" Naruto prepared himself; he had learned to fear the answer to questions like this one.

"Oh, don't worry, he's around…" Tenten gleamed while glancing insinuatingly to the masked ANBU operative sitting next to her; drinking tea and looking just like another person in the bar.

While sipping at his tea with the mask slightly tilted up to free his mouth, Neji spewed his drink out instantly. This would have soaked the two chefs behind the bar if it weren't for the mask slapping back down, which made Neji's face the sole victim of the outburst.

The ANBU took a cloth from his pack and wiped under the mask to dry his face. "Tenten, I told you that my identity needed to remain unknown to anyone other than you and the children." Neji whispered.

Tenten turned and leered at her husband, "This is Naruto we're talking about! You told me it was him who 'saved you from the darkness,' so why keep him in the dark? Besides, and most importantly, he **is** our –MPH!meht-meh-moh!" Neji's hand suddenly, and quickly covered Tenten's mouth midsentence.

Naruto scratched the back of his head and awkwardly laughed, "Maybe I'll catch up with you guys later…" Naruto got up and backed slowly and cautiously out of the restaurant, and started towards the Hokage Residence. He began moving quickly when he heard Tenten pull out her mace, shouting at the ANBU in rage.

Once well away from what was sure to be a bloodbath Naruto slowed his pace. The chilly night breeze comforted him as he strolled across the rebuilt village. He wouldn't even recognize it if it weren't for the Hokage Monument, towering above the Hidden Leaf as though watching over it. Naruto reached the Hokage Residence, a perfect replica of the one destroyed by Pain. He ascended the staircases to Tsunade's office, where all of the lights were off, only a couple of dim candles burned in the room.

"Granny?" Naruto called out, "Tsunade-samaaa?" Naruto walked cautiously into the large office and saw that the desks had all been knocked over, papers scattered throughout the room, and the Hokage lay passed out, propped up against the far wall.

"Granny!" Naruto shouted, and raced over to her.

"Baka!" Tsunade barked back at him, lazily raising a large bottle of sake up to her forehead, "Notso… damn loud, Naduto." Tsunade was trashed.

"Shit Granny, I thought you were dead." Naruto slid his arms under her shoulders to boost her up; a shadow clone turned her chair upright then disappeared. He pulled her limp body into the seat. "What the hell happened in here?" Naruto demanded.

Tsunade laughed amusedly, "Remobeling." The drunken Hokage then roared with laughter, "Ya'know, it was years ago today that Jiraiya died. It wasn't confirmed for several days but I knewit immediately, I could feel it." She then began sobbing.

"Yeah, " Naruto sighed, "I felt it that day too." He leaned up against half of a broken desk across from Tsunade. "You still take it this hard?" He questioned.

"Wha-?" Tsunade blinked and looked around sleepily, "Oh. No, this wasn't because'f him." She started to laugh quietly again, "He wa'so hard-headed, always goin' g'out on his… own, nev'admitting he needed-*HIC!*-help, never accepting it." She grew quiet for a moment and took another swig of her sake, reminiscing, "S'many times he would *HIC!* just dispear without'a single… word as'tuh where he… was. Much like _you_ did Narubo."

Naruto could sense where this was going, and he had seen it coming, "Obaa-chan…"

The Hokage wobbled a little bit, then rose her eyes up to the Jinchuuriki, "Where wer'you Maruto? Wher'd'ya go all'v those times, stationed at _ALLIED NINJA BASES'N ORDERED TO STAY PUT, WHERE'D YOU GO?_" She boomed and tried standing up, her legs shaking and buckling under her drunken stupor. "D'you have any… idea how many *HIC!* times I worried that you might've died out there? Days, sometimes weeks, even a whole… MONTH, once, I waited to hear word of your return to the bases!" She fumbled over her words, but was trying to get them through the alcohol numbing her.

"I…" Naruto closed his eyes and lowered his head, "I had things… to take care of." He knew that he had everyone freaking out about what happened to him whenever he left. When he returned Sakura gave him many beatings and scoldings for leaving in the middle of the night without at least telling her.

Tsunade scoffed, "You mean chasing after Zazuke? HA!"

Naruto became agitated, "Yeah! Some of the times I had heard word of Sasuke in the area and went looking for him! We had unfinished business…"

The Hokage looked back up at Naruto again, "And the other times?" She interrogated.

He took a deep breath to prepare for this one, "A couple of times Akatsuki found my camp and I lead them away from everyone else. And I know what you're going to say. We couldn't just hope that I could change their minds every time! There wouldn't always be a second chance for the lives of my friends! I _had_ to do something." Flustered, Naruto walked across the room, picked up another chair and sat down with his arms crossed as if to say 'what's done is done.'

Tsunade, looking satisfied with his answer, sat back as she gulped down the last of her sake and let the bottle drop to the floor. "I cn'see you've turned into quite th'shinobi, Naruto," _She can finally say my name right_, Naruto thought. She nodded her head in decisiveness, "*HIC!* 'n quite a man."

Naruto laughed at the compliment. "Thanks Granny, that means a lot coming from the Hokage." He looked around the dimly lit room and thought aloud, "So I pissed you off this much."

Again, she laughed and replied, "No. This was'a argument b'tween me and the Village Elders."

Naruto became curious, "An argument about what?"

She took a deep breath and let out a long sigh, "Ya'know, Naruto, most'v th'other boys've all gotten girlfriends, married 'n even start'd families. I was sure you would'a… made a move on Sakura **long** ago, but now she's married that funny-lookin' guy. D'ya have any lady friends your interested in?" Tsunade smiled with a penetrating glare in her eyes.

Naruto's expression became clearly disturbed, "Granny, you're like three times my age…"

Tsunade leaned over as though she were slowly passing out, then grasped the bottle back in her hand and flung it at Naruto, "BAKA!" The bottle slammed into his face and knocked his chair over, with him in it.

"Answer the question!" She demanded. She seemed to have sobered up a little after inflicting pain on the younger man.

Naruto got back up rubbing his head and wincing in pain, "Well, just tonight I went for a walk with a… 'lady friend.'" Naruto was still very confused as to what she was getting at. "What's this got to do with?"

Tsunade linked her hands together and rested her head on her fingers, "It's about you becoming Hokage," Naruto held his breath at the word, the excitement building up inside him, "The elders say that if you are to be announced Hokage… you must be, and stay, single."

Shock and despair swept across Naruto's face.


	4. A Brighter Day

Naruto couldn't believe it, "What?" Tsunade closed her eyes, and listened to his objections. "That's bullshit! Why would that even matter? What has dating got to do with running a goddamn hidden village?" He stood up and paced the room, knowing that if he didn't find something else to do he would focus his rampage upon the one person who was fighting it with him.

"Naruto." Tsunade said calmly, after a few seconds, " the elders enacted that law after what happened to your father and mother. If the Hokage is the strongest shinobi in the village, then their husband or wife would be weaker and therefore a liability. The Hokage cannot afford to have a weakness, because the Hokage's weakness is the village's weakness. When the Third took the position back he had no intention of keeping it for long but had no choice. On top of that he didn't get much trouble from the elders because they were close friends with his wife. Either way, once I came in I was informed about this and now so have you." She trailed off and went into deep thought.

"What about you, Granny?" Naruto asked as one of the dim candles burned out, "Were you ever interested in someone?"

Tsunade huffed, amused, "Well, Jiraiya and I had our own way of… relieving stress." Naruto made a gagging noise from his dark spot in the room. _Is that why whenever he came to the village he went to see her first?_ Naruto wondered.

"Well," Tsunade sighed loudly, "I guess that's all I really wanted to talk to you about."

Naruto was unsatisfied with this, "So, what? Am I supposed to just deal with this? I think you know me better than that, I will find a way to make this work." Naruto thought for a moment, the darkness being unable to cover his cheer. "With your permission, Tsunade. If you went through this much devastation then you must feel that it's time for a change as well?" Naruto stood and started out the door.

She smirked across the black room, "You seem to really want to fight this, Naruto, who is she?" she inquired.

The next morning Hinata woke up with a wide smile across her face. Clearly she had, in her sleep, come up with some expectations of how the day would go. She heard kunai clashing in the training quarters of the compound, and decided to check it out. She changed into her sweats and hooded jacket and walked out on the balcony. What she saw she almost couldn't believe: Neji and Tenten were squared off against Naruto and one of his clones.

Hinata activated her byakugan to take a closer look at them. She first inspected Naruto out of concern but saw that he had taken no damage. She then looked at Tenten's chakra network and saw that, although exhausted, she too was unharmed. Hinata was not the least concerned about her cousin, he was more than able to take care of himself, even if Naruto aimed to kill.

However, Neji too seemed completely exhausted, near his limit even. She didn't need the byakugan to see that. _Naruto is the only one not even remotely tired!_ Hinata noted in surprise.

"Good morning Hinata." The voice came from so close to her it gave her a jump. Naruto stood behind her smirking, pleased that he had surprised her.

Hinata bowed, "Good morning! N-Naruto-kun!" She said, blushing thoroughly. Her hair was a wild mess, the jacket she put on had wrinkles all over it, and the sweats she wore were not flattering at all, just comfortable. "N-Naruto-kun, please excuse me for one moment!" She then ran back into her room, and without even stopping she grabbed the clothes that she had laid out the night before and zipped down the corridor outside her bedroom.

_EEEEK! Naruto-kun saw me like this! I've got to hurry, before the image in burned into his memory!_ She frantically changed in the bathroom and once done was zipping into her room, and then back at the man's side.

"Ex-excuse me for that, Naruto-kun it's just improper for a man to see a woman in her pajamas." She bowed a more gracious greeting than the one she had just pulled off.

Confusion spread across Naruto's face, "Huh? Aren't those your pajamas over there?" Naruto looked and pointed at the skimpy boy-shorts on the floor next to her bed.

Hinata slowly turned her head to where Naruto was pointing. _Oh, God…_ She saw that she had, indeed, left them lying on the floor, available for Naruto to see. She quickly shut the sliding door behind them. _Oh, God…_ She held onto the handle desperately, trying to silently catch her breath.

Naruto had very quickly forgotten all about the sexy panties he tried to imagine on Hinata, and was now dumbfounded by the kimono she wore. _Oh, God…_ He thought. Although far more proper than the one she had worn the night before, hanging all the way down to her ankles. Her feet were bare, and looked like the most graceful things he had ever seen. The kimono was blue and had lotus blossoms all over it, and this kimono hugged her almost as tightly as the last had. He could see the curvaceous body underneath it, _Oh, God…_ Her hips were gentle and looked so soft, and with the slight lean that she had at the moment, he had a very good view of her ass. His eyes climbed up her waist, to one of Hinata's trademarks, her massive bust line. The dress revealed a good deal of cleavage, something that must be inevitable for her. For a moment, he was lost in that cleavage, even when she calmed down, stood up, and nervously looked back at him.

The expression on his face was enough to give her confidence back "Another shadow clone?" Hinata asked, trying to keep the Jinchuuriki's attention away from her.

He woke from the hypnosis and nervously replied. "N-no. I'm… uh… I'm the original," he managed to slow down his brain and think before speaking, "I've made a habit of using the kage bunshin jutsu for much more than battle, as you saw last night…" Naruto was again filled with embarrassment as he recalled all of the stuttering he committed the night before.

Hinata, shocked, turned back around and leaned over the rail to watch the training session. _If that's true, then only __**two**__ of Naruto-kun's shadow clones can take on both Tenten __**and**__ Neji?_ Hinata couldn't believe it. The original Naruto joined her and pretended to watch the match, but was really looking at and shocked by how beautiful Hinata looked even after just having woken up.

Hinata looked down as a breathless Neji took his gentle fist stance, and Tenten rolled up her sleeves to reveal her summoning tattoos along her forearms. She then sat down, closed her eyes, and started chanting and using hand signals too fast for Naruto to read them. The clone closest to Tenten then started charging to prevent her from using whatever jutsu she had planned. Neji then jumped in front of his path and then used quick, stinging jabs with his fingertips to try to strike Naruto's pressure points. The clone managed to dodge them and before long the second grabbed the other's hand and pulled him out of Neji's range while simultaneously pulling himself forward to strike Neji with a kick.

Neji had to use a rotation to block it off, but right before they made contact, another clone was summoned above the other, and used the kicking clone's stomach as a base to jump from and flew over Neji's perfect rotation defense. Neji destroyed the one attacking him, but there were still two, and one had gotten past him, he was amazed.

Hinata just stared fixedly on the training grounds,_ Naruto's clones can summon more clones in a situation like that?_ Naruto just watched her hair blowing in the breeze.

"Have you figured it out yet, Hinata?" Naruto asked, amused. She turned to him, still shocked, and her heart skipped a beat when she noticed how close Naruto stood to her. The newest clone landed behind Neji and began to charge for Tenten again. By now Hinata forgot altogether about the training going on below them and searched Naruto's face for a clue as to what he meant.

The first shadow clone, standing in front of Neji, then finished a jutsu that Neji had missed while watching the other. The ground opened up a few yards to reveal a toad's mouth. The final words the clone used to finish the jutsu Neji heard, "partial fly burial…" Three tongues flew out of the mouth and wrapped around Neji's arms and legs. Neji attempted another rotation but by then he was already pulled into the mouth and it closed up, only leaving his neck and head outside the vice grip.

"I enjoyed our time together last night Hinata," Naruto said, once again bringing her attention back from the match, "I don't think I've ever seen you wear clothes like the dress you wore last night…" There was more that he wanted to say, but couldn't.

Hinata noticed his flustering and matched it with her own, "Kurenai-sensei insisted that I wear it. I felt very uncomfortable in it." The second clone was only feet away from Tenten when she finished her summoning.

Out of her swinging arms came a barrage of shuriken, and when the clone managed to dodge this and continue to descend on her, a ball and chain emerged, swinging right for him.

"I thought you looked beautiful…" Naruto managed to get out, before his voice shrank to a level that only dogs could hear.

"Really? Thank you, Naruto-kun." Hinata's composure was renewed again.

Naruto took a deep breath, "Actually, Hinata, I wanted to talk to you about the day Pain invaded Konoha."

A mass hysteria took place in Hinata's heart, and nervousness struck her mind, "I… do too." She managed to get out.

Meanwhile, on the training grounds, Tenten had destroyed the clone that was coming for her and set her sights on the one that had summoned the fly burial toad. She threw a massive shuriken with a shadow shuriken hidden beneath it, and simultaneously released several kunai with exploding tags burning right behind them, to eliminate his dodging options.

"Behind you!" Neji shouted to her. The clone that the shuriken were headed for didn't even move and was destroyed by them. But a kunai was put at her throat from behind and it was over.

"Yoshi! I think that's enough training for today!" said the kage bunshin behind Tenten, pleased with the outcome.

Tenten was shocked, "How did you get behind me without me even seeing you?"

"That… I'll have to explain another day." The copy of Naruto then 'poofed' away, Neji and Tenten had no idea that they weren't even fighting the original. Neji pulled himself out of the hole in the ground and looked up to Naruto, standing next to Hinata, with a very serious expression on his face. He calmed down, smiled just a little bit and laughed.

Hinata felt her insides squirm at the thought of how strong Naruto had become, a wide smile had grown across her face.

"I guess you haven't figured it out either, Hinata. " Naruto said in a soft tone, then leaned in close to her, cupped her ear, and whispered something to her. The close vibrations of his voice in her ear made a tingle start at the top of her neck, which turned into a shockwave that passed down through her whole body, especially a very _particular_ part of her body. The warmth of his breath glided across her cheek, her hair tangled in between his fingers, and the hard, strong body so near to hers made her go numb. Her face was washed with ecstasy as her eyes rolled back just a little bit, but she still focused enough to listen to the secret.

"So that's how you've been doing all this." She said softly, her cheeks a rosy red with happiness, not nervousness.

Naruto leaned back up, having touched the softest hair in the world. Her smell still followed him, as though guided by his wishes. He, too, felt the numbing sensation, the wave of pleasure. Their secret joy was shared and understood between them as their eyes locked. Forgetting all about his two training partners, Naruto placed his hand on Hinata's lower back, and they went back inside.

Tenten watched as the two shared that moment and her heart filled with romance. "Neji, what would _you_ like to do now?" She looked over to her husband, eyes full of love and lust.

"Actually, I'm on assignment. I need to get back into uniform."

Neji was discovered there an hour later, not sure what had happened.


	5. The Enemy

Together they walked downstairs, Naruto's hand still on the small of Hinata's back, refusing to remove it, and unable to even if he wanted. The woman whose soul swayed with every step she took delighted in the touch. She could feel his entire being through that gentle touch, felt as though he was communicating with her through his fingertips. Indeed he was, he wanted the touch to say: "_I'm here now._"

Hinata lead him to the kitchen in silence, the two floating on cloud nine, Naruto not in the least concerned with where she took him, but only that she took him. There, a fully-grown Hanabi ate at the food-prep table. By the size of her bosoms it was clear that she was truly her sister's sister.

"Oneesan, where is that lover-boy of your-!" She quickly silenced herself as Naruto, too, cleared the door and walked into the kitchen. Hinata was thoroughly embarrassed. A confession from herself, in what she thought might be her last moments, was one thing, but her little sister revealing late night love-life conversations was another.

Hinata's eyes burned holes right through Hanabi as she gave an apologetic look at the upset kunoichi. "Oh! Hello Naruto-sama! I didn't know you were…" She gave a long sigh, as she gave up her weak charade, "Sorry sis', I tried. Good luck Naruto. It's painful enough hearing about it all the time. No need for me to be bear and witness it." Hanabi just dismissed her formalities, grabbed her breakfast and left the room. _Hanabi brat!_ Hinata was pissed, and embarrassed on many levels. However, she managed to quell her overactive nerves.

"Sorry about that Naruto-kun, I was a little bit excited last night after you dropped me off and Hanabi had seen us so…"

"Don't worry Hinata, I had a similar talk with Oba-san last night." Naruto comforted her, discomforting himself with the confession.

Hinata felt the rush of blood to her face, incredibly happy to hear that. "What were the two of you talking about?" She pried as she started to pull out some pots and pans.

Naruto took a deep breath and gave out a long sigh, preparing himself. "Well, she was pretty drunk. Really drunk. After getting all of the drunken ranting out of her she scolded me for the times that I had left my platoons during the war."

"Yes, you gave us quite a few scares, Naruto-kun. I was very worried about you." Hinata said, remembering those anguish-filled days. The experienced cook quickly worked on a meal for the two of them.

"I'm sorry Hinata-chan, it was never my intention to scare anyone, least of all, you. To be honest, it was you who came to mind when I did it. I remembered how weak I felt when I thought Pain had killed you, so helpless. I wanted to make sure that I never let that happen again. So I lead enemies, who were only after me to begin with, away from my comrades. My only failure was Kakashi-sensei." Naruto grew silent for a moment while Hinata continued to prepare the meal.

A look of concern appeared on Hinata's face, "Do you want to talk about it?" She put down a spoon and put her hand on Naruto's. The warmth and gentleness of her palm awoke Naruto from his memories.

"Maybe another time, I've tried not to think on those times so much in the past years. You would think it might be hard with me taking care of his son but Kama is a character of his own. There isn't much time to reminisce with him around." Naruto laughed.

Hinata was happy to see his troubles leaving him. "Yes I heard that you wouldn't be applying Kama to the Academy, is that right?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, yeah, but it has nothing to do with the highly esteemed teachers there," he added flirtatiously, "he is a very skilled ninja and is dying to be put into a team so I thought I would just see if the board would allow him to take the Genin exam a few years early."

"Oh, well with you as his mentor that isn't surprising. Anyway, breakfast is ready." Hinata elegantly carried several plates and bowls balanced on her arms over to the table.

She placed a bowl of rice at Naruto's left, a bowl of miso soup at his right and a plate of tamagoyaki at the center. "This smells great! You really are a great cook. Maybe I'll have to kidnap you and bring you home with me!" Naruto's voice reached a small peak at the end as he realized what he was saying. Hinata blushed and sent a flirty look at him over her shoulder, "Maybe…"

Naruto's embarrassment was lifted and replaced by a tingle up his spine. After she sat down they both ate their meals in silence. Naruto desperately tried to look at Hinata between compliments about her cooking, but found that he was incapable of escaping his nervousness. Hinata, on the other hand, was preoccupied with thoughts of disbelief at how easily she found herself openly flirting with him, between accepting his praising that is.

After the meal some of the servants came in, obviously having watched or listened in on the two.

Naruto and Hinata both thanked the help and Naruto finally turned to the lavender eyes and managed to sputter out: "Aaaare you r-ready, Hinata-chan?" He cursed himself harshly for it. Hinata nodded.

By the time they arrived at the entrance of the compound Naruto looked at Hinata. "You teach at the academy in _that?_" Naruto asked, _why did I get stuck with Iruka-sensei? This is MUCH better,_ he thought to himself, eyeballing the curves the kimono hugged so generously.

"OH! I completely forgot!" Hinata replied, confounded, and then laughed apologetically, "No this is _not_ what I wear in front of the children. I guess you caught me off guard earlier and I grabbed the wrong set of clothes I had laid out. I wasn't even thinking! I'll be right back Naruto-kun, don't leave without me!" She barely finished her reply, already halfway down the hall.

"I won't! Take your time!" he shouted back. A shower being turned on could then be heard, "Domo, Naruto-kun!" she shouted back and closed the door. Naruto chuckled, realizing how little time he had given her to prepare. _It can't be helped, I couldn't wait any longer and it turns out that I enjoy making her nervous_, Naruto smiled evilly. He secretly wished he could use the byakugan at that moment.

"Good morning, Naruto san." A familiar authoritative voice said.

Naruto turned around to Hiashi Hyuuga, wearing his traditional white robes and the usual judgmental stare. Naruto bowed and greeted him back.

Hiashi then looked past Naruto and down the hall Hinata had just disappeared from. "I realize that now that you have returned, you might be looking for a companion to… settle down with."

Naruto wasn't sure how to handle the statement, so he didn't. He chose to wait and see what the head of the Hyuuga family had to say.

"I am also aware of my daughter's feelings for you, few are not." He slightly sneered at the thought of his daughter being so expressive. "After she went to your aid during Akatsuki's invasion of Konoha, she attained a trust in herself that she had never had before. Her skills in battle, family politics, among other things, improved. I believe I have you to thank for that." The elder brought his attention back to Naruto.

Naruto smiled and scratched the back of his neck. "Well, I didn't really do anything, I always knew she was strong. It just takes longer for some to figure it out for themselves. I-"

"However." Hiashi interrupted, "You left very shortly after beating Pain, and have not returned until _now_." The Hyuuga paused. "My daughter was devastated to hear that you had gone charging off, without a word to much of anyone, just to save a boy who had abandoned his people long ago. She may have forgiven you but I still remember the week she refused to sleep, training and pushing herself so hard. She said that if you needed her again she would to be stronger to do more than she had last time." Naruto cringed at where this was going, and also at the guilt stinging him. "Before you continue to court my daughter, I need to know that it won't happen again." A severely stern look shot out of Hiashi's pale eyes.

Naruto was overcome with nervousness at the demand. _Probably should have gone to him and asked permission first._ "Hiashi-sama, I apologize for having caused any grief in your family, and I should have come to you this morning, first. I assure you that I no longer have business anywhere but here in Konoha." Naruto informed the family chieftain, bowing apologetically. "Do I have your permission to take Hinata-chan for a walk this morning?" Naruto rose slightly from his bow to look at the man.

Hiashi then turned, "Yes, Naruto, you may." He then walked out the front entrance of the compound. Another Hyuuga member bowed silently as his dignitary passed, then walked up the steps in front of Naruto.

Neji came through the front entrance of the building, apparently surprised to see Naruto. He smiled.

"Hey Neji-san. Good sparring this morning, I hope I didn't hurt that reputation of yours." Naruto joked. It took a moment for his fellow nin to reply.

"You know, Naruto-kun, I was a bit surprised by the outcome of the session myself." Replied the Hyuuga member, the smile becoming something more threatening.

Naruto sensed something amiss, "So what have you and Tenten-chan got planned for the day?"

Neji paused for a moment, "I'm not sure, I would like to stay here so I wouldn't have to wear that suffocating ANBU mask all day."

Naruto knew that Neji had a mission that day and looked at his comrade for a few seconds, "… Who are you?" Naruto demanded.

The impersonator laughed menacingly, "Bravo Naruto-kun, I wasn't sure if I had been figured out yet or not. Anyway, didn't you get my letter?" A bloodthirsty glare was shown in Neji's eyes.

Naruto grew concerned for everyone nearby, especially Hinata. He gathered senjutsu faster than any other master had before, _this isn't Sasuke!_ he concluded, and threw a wide kick to his opponent's head. The man ducked under the kick and laughed as he pulled a kunai and aimed for Naruto's exposed left leg. The jinchuuriki flipped and grasped a hold of the attacking arm, shot his feet into the neck and armpit of his foe and yanked the on the arm, severing it from 'Neji's' body. He then landed on his feet in front of the invader and buried his knee deep into his opponent's chest. The shadow clone disguised as Neji was dispelled by the strike. Naruto had suspected this and sat on the floor and meditated. He searched as far as he could with his sage chakra, desperately trying to find the source of the clone's chakra.

_Kyuubi,_ Naruto searched deep within himself, _Kyuubi, I need you now._

**Naruto…** the beast inside him replied, **You have not called on me in some time, what do you want?**

_I need you to strengthen my sage chakra, widen the area I can perceive…_ Naruto urged the Fox. _The village and those I love may be in danger._

Naruto opened his eyes to reveal the Fox's red irises and slit pupil, as nine chakra tails bubbled out from him. The hallway turned into a sauna.

**You should have killed the Uchiha brat when you had the chance, **the Fox boomed. **You were too proud, refusing to let me help you.**

_Pay attention from time-to-time, the chakra signature wasn't Sasuke's_. Naruto searched a boosted thirty-mile radius and could not find the source of the clone.

_Thank you, Kyuubi, I don't sense the chakra or the evil spirit of the original anywhere near here, but he's not done here yet._ Naruto's tails subsided and the heat poured from the hallway out the Hyuuga entrance.

**It would appear that whoever it is, they know of your affection for the Hyuuga daughter,** the Fox remarked, **what will you do, Naruto?** The monster asked in an ominous tone.

_Apparently you've been paying some attention after all. But I will handle it,_ Naruto replied assuredly, _like I always have._

The Fox laughed amusedly, **Naruto, you never cease to amaze and entertain me. But how do you think he got past our defenses? We made many enemies in that war, but only one bright enough to accomplish **_**that**_**.**

Naruto concurred in the demon's conclusion as to the identity of the invader. _Yes, clearly we're dealing with –_ "Naruto-kun!" came a shout from down the hall.

Naruto was cut short by Hinata's return. "Naruto-kun! What happened?" She asked, as Naruto realized that he was still in sage mode. Hinata's thoughts trailed for a brief moment: _Naruto, senjutsu only makes you look sexier…_

Naruto released the chakra and replied in a more chipper mood in her presence, "Well…" He laughed, thinking, "I'll explain on the way."

Naruto and Hinata left the Hyuuga compound and began their walk to the Academy. After taking her through the events that took place after she left to change, exempting the part regarding her father, she became concerned.

"Who do you think it was? If not Sasuke, then who?" She searched his eyes, hoping he wouldn't keep her in the dark like he might have done seven years ago. She didn't need protection anymore and felt that he could use her help.

"Kabuto Yakushi." He replied, a serious look grew on his face. "And we are going to be in real shit if I'm right, he's trouble." He didn't notice the language he had used in front of a girl he had been trying to woo.

Hinata wasn't so bothered by his choice of words, but by the way he seemed to fear something, the ominous look on his face.

"Why would Kabuto Yakushi have any reason to come here?" She asked, the one question Naruto did not look forward to answering.

"He seems to think that we are connected. I've had many encounters with him and since the first he has 'carefully watched' my progress. He was the disciple of Orochimaru so there is no knowing what kind of madness leads him."

As they hit another dead end in the mystery of what Kabuto was planning, Hinata asked him another couple of tough questions, "What about the letter, is it the one you received last night at the gates? Why did you think it was Sasuke?"

Naruto replied reluctantly, "It was in Sasuke's handwriting, and it said 'I promise, you will both see that village burn to the ground, just as you and all of your friends' lives will burn.' Word for word Sasuke's last threat to me and Sakura-chan."

Hinata thought on this, "I see…"

Naruto put his arm around her waist, "No worries, Konoha can handle anything! Especially with the title of 'Hokage' right within my grasp!" Hinata leaned her head on his shoulder, always comforted by his words. Naruto felt stronger than ever with Hinata in his arm.

"Oji-chan! Oji-chan!" Naruto heard the sound of two, familiar children running towards them. Hinata was puzzled by children calling Naruto 'Uncle' until she saw who they were.

Naruto replied cheerfully, "Chiyo! Yuki!" The two children jumped up into Naruto's arms. Hinata couldn't help but be surprised and warmed by how well he appeared to get along with children. She softly blushed at… other thoughts.

Naruto put the boy and girl down, laughing with their joy. He turned to Hinata and began to introduce them to her when they both bowed to her and said, en mass, "Ohayou, Hinata-sensei!" Hinata replied by gracefully bowing back, "Ohayou."

Yuki, a small boy of only four years of age had black hair tied off in the back, round eyes like his father, and a severely less massive brow. Chiyo, Yuki's twin sister and the elder of the two, looked much more like a copy of her mother, with the exception of a broader mouth like her father, constantly portraying her moods more obviously than most shinobi.

"Where are your parents? Your sensei and I might stop by and say hello before class starts." Naruto asked.

"Hahaue and Chiciue are fighting again." Answered Chiyo. "Yeah, mommy told us to go outside and play 'cause she had to talk to daddy." Yuki added.

Naruto busted out laughing as the children looked up at the master sage, "Ojisan, you don't think mommy's gunna hurt daddy do you?" asked Yuki, as indeed there was a lot of loud pounding noises coming from the house.

Naruto continued laughing, "No, no. Now you kids go ahead and play and don't worry about grown-up things, it'll be settled in no time!" Naruto urged and the twins then simultaneously smiled, bowed and ran off to join some other children a few houses down.

Hinata looked at Naruto with concern, "Naruto-kun, do you think we should go and make sure everything is okay? This is Sakura-san and Lee-san we are talking about, they could really hurt each other! We could at least interrupt the argument and give them a chance to cool down…" She looked over to the Lee residence, the pounding and shouting still at what seemed its height.

"HA! Hell no!" Naruto huffed, amused. Hinata was surprised by his seemingly careless decision. Naruto noticed the disapproving look and explained, "They're not fighting. They're… you know… practicing their marital rights." He laughed. Hinata was clearly not buying what he was selling. "Take a look for yourself!"

Hinata activated the byakugan and immediately deactivated it, her face a thorough pink. At that precise moment both the booming noise of walls nearly blowing out, and 'shouting' came to a sudden halt, followed by a female voice… "OoooooOOooOoooooooOOOhHHHHHHH!" Hinata's face went crimson red and she continued on their path quickly as if her legs were under their own control.


	6. A Kiss

Naruto laughed uncontrollably as he caught up with Hinata. The laughter got stuck in his throat when he saw the sway her hips took as she walked. She had earlier changed from a kimono befitting her class and beauty, to her traditional outfit of sandals, pants, and jacket. Even these less revealing clothes couldn't hide her curves from Naruto anymore. Forever etched in his memory, the more she wore, the more he craved.

Hinata, after her first, and hopefully last, voyeur experience, felt that between missing Nin threats and listening to others' sexual encounters, this small date might be going in the wrong direction. However, in her flustered state, her mind traveled to thoughts similar to Naruto's. She looked at his battle attire, which he wore nearly all of the time and she giggled to herself. To some, Naruto might seem to be lazy or uncaring of his personal hygiene, but she knew that Naruto actually had six pairs of the exact same outfit, some with small color variations. Sakura had told her this long ago to try to sway Hinata's opinion of the blond, not for Sakura to have him herself, but for Hinata's sake. For some reason, Hinata loved this about him. He knew who he was, where he came from, none of the doubt she was plagued with in her early life. She had grown out of the phase and knew, also, whom she was. She wore kimonos for special occasions, much like Naruto wore a coat similar to his father's for them. He wore it for her that morning.

"Hinata," Naruto stirred her from her musings, "I find it amazing that you can look beautiful wearing anything." Naruto felt immense pride that he had mustered the courage to say it aloud.

Warmth spread from her heart throughout her body in a wave, "You really think so, Naruto-kun?" She looked up to trade glances, he looking her up and down, she fixedly gazing at his face. She closed her eyes and smiled, "Thank you." She walked closer to him, the fabric of their jackets rubbing up against one another with every step.

Most of the people on the streets were in a hurry, nearly all of them shouted greetings to the famous war hero. "I wonder what's going on today? Not more celebrating I hope, all the stories being passed around are becoming something closer to myth already." Naruto thought aloud.

Hinata decided to dodge his curiosities, as she had promised to someone, and decided to get one of hers answered. "Naruto-kun, I have noticed that the geta you wear are a little too big for your feet. Why do you wear them?"

Naruto looked down to the wooden block sandals and wiggled his toes, trying to fill them completely. He couldn't. "Well," he said, looking back up to her, "these were ero sennin's." He walked off the path and leaned up against a tree. Holding the sole of his geta up to Hinata, he exposed a symbol that said 'Peace.'

"Jiraiya-sensei wore them for many years. When a pair had worn out, he made new ones and inscribed the word onto them. When I was away training with him I didn't understand what he was doing." Naruto put his foot down and started walking with her again.

"It wasn't until after he had died, after I fought Pain, really, that I understood what it meant. You see, they were always too big for him as well." Naruto smiled and laughed at something unsaid, "Anyway, when I was stationed at Amegakure for a brief while during the war, I went in search for his grave. I was really upset to find that there was none. His body had disappeared after he died but Pain found significance in his geta and kept them. I found them at the top of a tower where their 'God' had reigned over his village."

Hinata was only more curious about them now. "What 'significance' do you find in the geta? You don't always have to speak in half-truths Naruto-kun." Hinata was pointing out a habit Naruto had picked up during the war, clearly she didn't want him to treat her the same as everyone else.

Naruto saw this disturbance, "Hinata…" He paused to think on his words. She feared she had struck a nerve unintentionally. Naruto sighed, "I would never keep you in the dark on purpose, nor anyone else in this village, but especially not you. I'm not sure when I started doing that, but I'm glad you brought it to my attention. I won't do it again." Hinata thought that words like those could only come from a man of incredible substance, a leader. She felt pride for her love, _I have good taste,_ she added to herself.

Naruto went on, "Jiraiya's purpose in life was told to him when he was young. He would teach a revolutionary who would either bring peace to this world or destroy it. Before he died he told me that I would someday take charge of that mission: creating peace in this world. From what I understand, all three of the legendary sannin were very old-fashioned and superstitious in their own individual ways. What Jiraiya was pointing out, in an unnecessarily literal way, was that 'Peace' was a large shoe to fill. So ever since I came across them, I have been trying to do just that, like he did." Naruto beamed down at Hinata.

"Naruto…" Hinata said in a gentle voice.

"Yes, Hinata?" Naruto still smiled at his companion.

"We're here." She said with a slight sound of dismay in her voice. She looked back down at those prominent geta, which made him seem even wiser than the previous night, now that she knew their story.

Naruto faced forward to see that, indeed, they stood in front of the Academy. "Damn…" he said under his breath. _Should have taken a longer route,_ he frustratingly thought to himself.

Naruto then noticed that out of the few people on the roads, none of them brought children _towards_ the Academy. "Uh, Hinata-chan, where is everyone? Did they change the time of classes again?" He was very confused.

"Naruto-kun, classes have been cancelled for two weeks so the returning ninja can spend time with their families. There was a large banner across the West gates as you came in…" _Still quite oblivious sometimes Naruto-kun, why does it make you seem all the more cute?_ She wondered.

Naruto's mind reeled back to the day before as he had returned home. He had no recollections of said banner, although he did remember staring at Ichiraku's in the distance and listing off words to describe its greatness to Kama. He was then stuck in a cycle of trying to remember all of those words and added to them in yearning for Ichiraku's sweet release once again.

Hinata interrupted his drooling, "You don't remember the thirty-foot banner?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, "I guess I was a little preoccupied with thoughts of dinner." He admitted. "But Hinata, if you knew that class was called off, then why did you decide to come with me?"

Hinata blushed at the question, "Naruto-kun, I haven't seen you in seven years. I haven't seen you since Pain. What I said then still stands true today. I love you Naruto and like I told you on that day, I want to walk beside you forever." Hinata's heart started to pound furiously in her chest. "Even if it means going places I don't need to, I want to be where you are." She could feel the pounding in her hands; "You have always been someone with great conviction and courage. There has never been a challenge you could not overcome, even when it seemed that you were completely alone." The pounding began to subside as her pace picked up and her words flowed out of her effortlessly "I want you to know that you will never need to be alone again because," Hinata paused briefly, looking up and deep into his eyes, feeling the slight blush come back to her cheeks as she smiled, "if you want, I will always be with you, because I love you." Hinata loved feeling the words come out of her in front of him just as she had that day so many years ago.

Naruto looked down into the soft lavender eyes peering into him, into his entire being. The words formed a gentle melody in his mind, exactly what he had hoped to hear for so many years, dreamed of on cold and warm nights alike. He had so much to say, so much to tell, but for the moment he wanted to bask in the warmth of her presence, her soul, and take down to memory this moment.

Hinata would have thought for the worst of Naruto's silence, had it not been for his smile, which gave so much away to her. Everything around them seemed to disappear. The universe existed only for them and for a couple of seconds seemed to spin for Hinata alone as she felt the pounding in her heart began to pick up again when Naruto opened his mouth to speak.

"Hinata, you have been on my mind since that day." His heart began to thud nervously, "Never once did you leave my thoughts, not even in my dreams." His heartbeats became erratic, "When times got hard for me out there, I had you to comfort me." Naruto felt the warmth fill him as they had on those nights, "So, you see, you have been at my side all along, I never felt alone. I've been waiting to talk to you about this for just as long, but up until now I just didn't know what to say." His heart dropped down to a slow pulse that reverberated throughout him, "Hinata, I love you. I love how caring you are, I love how shy you can be, your eyes, your smile, your grace, your softness, I loved it when you took my hand last night, I loved touching your back this-" Hinata stood on her toes and pecked Naruto on the lips. He looked down at her in shock and she feared she might have moved too soon. The shock was not for timing, but the rush even that tiny touch of hers had given him. It was like an explosion in his heart, and his mind felt like it had turned to putty.

He took her elbows in his hands, causing her arms to go limp, dropping to her sides as she gave in to the touch. He pulled her body close to his, and in that moment they embraced and gave into the desire. The rush fueled them both, no sound was heard, nothing to see, nothing to feel but that embrace and that kiss. Hinata's hands grasped his belt then placed themselves on Naruto's stomach, solid even from outside of his gi. Naruto's arms loved the feel of her body in them and he wrapped them around her waist. Her hands then slid up his chest and around his neck. Naruto's right hand streamed up her back, while his left tightly wrapped itself fully around her waste. At the touch of his hair, Hinata's fingers attempted to tangle themselves in it but his forehead protector was in the way. She lifted it off, allowing it to drop to the ground and her fingers were free to get lost in the blonde hair.

Their bodies were in constant motion, only more satisfied every time they found a new place to come in contact. The only fixed and steadfast part of their bodies was their lips, which were the epicenter of the embrace.

Things could have gone on forever like this, neither having a single coherent thought after discovering a higher state of being, if they had not heard someone's approach. In a single instant they froze in their clutch, Hinata activated the byakugan while stepping back taking combat stance and throwing three shuriken. Naruto created a shadow clone, which appeared above the intruder and was descending on their target when said target let out a loud shriek.

"AAAAAAYYIIIIIIIIII!" The sobering shriek came just in time for the clone to counter Hinata's shuriken and be called off in a cloud of smoke, which revealed Shizune in fetal position. She got up, clearly startled.

"Shizune-sama?" Hinata called out.

"Hey! Shizune, what the fuck was that? Why the hell didn't you just call out to us or something! You didn't need to sneak up on us!" Naruto shouted at her, very displeased with her timing.

She bowed to the two of them, still flustered from her near-death experience, "Gomen nasai. I didn't want to intrude, so I thought I might let my presence be known before…" she trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid.

Hinata blushed. Naruto, still oblivious ranted on, "You definitely intruded, but before what?"

Shizune blushed for them both, "Before you knew that I saw."

"Oh." Naruto responded, "Well we don't care if you saw. It's not like we were doing anything wrong." He crossed his arms and looked away, confident in his words.

"Naruto-sama, I need you to come with me." Shizune said, bowing once again.

"Sama? Since when did you start calling me that?" Naruto asked, still not used to hearing it. "And Why are you bowing at me?" He was still aggravated.

Hinata took his hand and gave it a squeeze, "Go with Shizune-sama, I'll be there to watch." She then gave him a peck on the cheek and took off towards the Hokage residence.

"What the hell is going on?" Naruto demanded at Shizune.

Shizune dodged the question, "So when did you and Hinata start going out?" She giggled, "Never mind that, just follow me." She took off and Naruto reluctantly followed.

Naruto caught up to her with a hotheaded look on his face. "Actually, Shizune, I haven't even gotten the chance to ask her to go steady with me, _people_ keep interrupting."

Shizune giggled again and blushed, "It looked like you skipped going _steady_ by the time I got there."

She sped up and began to explain. "Naruto we don't have enough time for me to explain. I have to get you to the Hokage's tower immediately. I went to your apartment this morning but couldn't find you there. I had to go interrogate everyone you know just to find where you were headed. Because of that, we're late."

As they reached the Hokage residence Naruto saw that everyone from the village was standing in front. They raced around to the back of the building and ascended the zigzagging stairs.

Shizune remembered something just in time before they entered the tower, "Oh! And Tsunade-sama told me to tell you that she found a way to fix your 'problem' and she will discuss it with you tomorrow." She said as she opened the door.

"Why wouldn't she just explain it-!" Shizune pounded him on the head and kicked him into the room. "Shut it!" She whispered violently, before closing the door behind him and leaving to join the crowd.

Naruto walked into the dark room, blinding light coming in through the opening to the outside platform. Tsunade sat in front of the opening, with the village Elders at her sides. "Naruto," She said with her commanding voice, "sit."

Naruto sat where she pointed, surrounded by burning candles and a shrine behind him. Bewildered, he looked around the room and at the faces of the three sat in front of him.

"Naruto Uzumaki, do you know why you are here?" The old man to Tsunade's left asked.

For a moment Naruto thought, the reason only came to him when he saw the sea of people that stood outside, seeming to border the horizon. The smile that overtook his face was the broadest and proudest it had ever born. A single tear fell off of his cheek as he answered, "Yes, I know why I am here. I am to become the sixth Hokage." He said, as properly as he could.

Tsunade winked at him and smiled, "Well then Naruto, lets begin." And the four of them began their ceremonial rights.

Hinata couldn't slow her heart down, it had been thumping so hard since Naruto had grabbed her and hadn't stopped since. As she saw the crowd in the distance, and its mass, it only made her more excited to know that Naruto was to become Hokage today. She arrived in front of the Hokage residence, looking for people she knew. As she worked her way through the crowd, people were talking excitedly about the new Hokage, some swearing they had seen him run around the back of the building. Hinata turned when she heard a familiar voice, "Hinata!"

Sakura Lee Haruno and Rock Lee stood near the very front of the crowd, both carrying a twin on their shoulders. "Hinata come over here!" She shouted over the thousands of voices.

After she made her way over to the couple Sakura smiled while Chiyo beamed down at her. "I assume you managed to keep it a secret from Naruto, right?" She asked.

Hinata laughed, "It was easier than I thought it would be, he's not a very curious person and he had his minds on other things anyway."

Sakura gave a look of piqued interest, "Like what kinds of things? Maybe a new love interest?" She had a devious look in her eyes.

Hinata blushed and nodded quickly. Sakura's interest grew hungry for more, "Reeeeaaaally, so what happened? You have to tell me! Did you kiss him? Did he kiss you? C'mon, out with it!" Sakura was desperate to find out if Naruto had the balls to say anything to someone as forward as Hinata had become about his feelings.

Just as Hinata was going to reply, many voices started shouting: "People are coming out!"

The two village Elders appeared out of the darkness and stood out of the way of Tsunade, who walked all the way to the front of the platform and spoke to the people, "I, Tsunade Senju the Fifth Hokage, am happy to finally introduce you to the Rokudaime Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto walked out of the tower wearing the white robes with red strips down the seam, and the Hokage hat with the number '6' inscribed on the front. The crowd began to cheer.

He looked down at the applauding masses and immediately spotted several of his friends, first and foremost, Hinata, whom he smiled at. He could see Gaara the Godaime Kazekage with his brother Kankuro and Suigetsu Hozuki the Shichidaime Mizukage with Karin, all smiling and applauding like everyone else.

Naruto felt an urge and began to lift his leg to climb the railing when Tsunade lightly pinched his shoulder, "You're Hokage now, so act like it." She said this with a cheerful smile and a low whisper. "Try to refrain from too much with her," she said looking down to Hinata, "I'll talk to you about my solution tomorrow."

After all of the cheering and the crowd had dispersed, the Konoha Eleven, Konohamaru and Kama had gathered in front of the Hokage Residence, being told that Naruto would be down after the coronation was complete.

"Wow," Sakura exclaimed, "we haven't all been together under good circumstances since the Chunnin exams! I wonder what's going to happen this time!" She laughed as the sun began to set and Naruto exited the building. He now wore a coat made especially for him in his father's style but with the traditional Hokage colors. He no longer wore his forehead protector, completely forgotten in front of the Academy, but now wore the Sixth's hat, which lay comfortably on his back looped by a string around his neck.

Hinata stared in awe at the image, her attraction for him burning hotter if anything. Sakura was the first to spot him, "Hokage-sama!" She shouted teasingly. Naruto then gave her a set of instruction in a sign language only those two knew. The time spent in the war had developed their teamwork skills even greater than what they were beforehand and the necessity of such skills arose from time to time. Sakura nodded.

The others were very happy to see him and greeted him heartily. Naruto looked at all of them, sadly noting that Sai was not there, and was surprised to notice something else, "Hey, where's Choji?" He asked.

Ino responded sullenly, "You didn't hear? Choji went missing in action during the war. We don't have any evidence that he… you know." Ino had been a changed person after Sai died, much colder and quiet. The war had these effects on many people. Naruto's face grew somber, "I'm sorry to hear that."

Kama then came rushing forward at Naruto with his newly learned jutsu: the rasengan. He leaped into the air and aimed it right for his mentor when the man simply put his finger in its path, when making contact with the raging typhoon of chakra he dispersed it immediately sending the boy rolling back a few yards before catching his combat stance again. With Kama's look of surprise, along with most of the others in the group Naruto began to laugh, "HA ha ha! Boy you do learn fast, but still not fast enough!" Konohamaru was just as surprised and had spent most of his day gawking at how quickly Kama had figured out most of the basics of the jutsu.

"So, Hokage-sama, where would his lordship like to go and celebrate?" Sakura returned to her jokes.

Naruto smirked, "Enough of that, first of all. That's my first edict as Hokage to all of you. I don't want you treating me any different outside of village affairs. And my second edict is **Ichiraku's for dinner**!" He pointed toward the business district of Konoha. This surprised no one.

As they all began to walk towards Ichiraku's, Hinata started to inch her way over to Naruto as he walked. He seemed to be welcome to all conversations and simultaneously avoiding her. Sakura had finished whispering something to Shikamaru and Neji, and pulled Hinata to the outside of the group. Naruto peeked to his left to make sure Sakura completed her tasks for the night, and after doing so beamed and gave her a thumbs up.

Neji, having been given the night off from ANBU, spoke up to Naruto, "Hey, I should probably apologize for not telling you this morning. We were all told before your return but sworn to secrecy. A bunch of rubbish that is, like some sort of weak plot tool in a story or something." Naruto laughed and Hinata, who had been comforted by Sakura's words, also apologized.

"Oh don't worry about that, it made for a great surprise." Naruto replied. Once Hinata was close enough he quickly gave her hand a tight squeeze. Kiba noticed it.

"Oh, Hinata, so you saw Naruto this morning too huh? What did the two of _you_ do this morning?" He asked in an insinuating manner. All at once Sakura Shikamaru and Neji hit him upside the head for the remark. They signaled him to be quiet.

Hinata and Naruto both blushed slightly and smiled as Hinata replied, "I made him some breakfast after his training with Neji-san and Tenten-san."

Kama had a suspicious feeling that something was being left unsaid but left it for later.

Elsewhere, Tsunade had skipped the rest of the coronation and gone for a long walk into the cool, moonlit forest. She had brought a large bottle of sake to have a few drinks in the secluded area. She still wore her Fifth hat from the announcing, and let that be a warning to any bandits that might still wander the area. She heard some voices coming from a small clearing and quietly sneaked closer to get a better look at who it was. Once at the tree line, she was astounded to see three men and a boy sitting around a humble fire.

Back at Ichiraku's, the gang had assembled a strange sitting arrangement. Shikamaru had positioned everyone around Naruto and Hinata, close enough to appear to be speaking with them, but facing away slightly and delving into their own conversations. The couple, happy to finally be 'alone' ate and talked.

"Congratulations Naruto-sama." Toasted the Hyuuga, holding her cup of sake up in the air. The rest of the group simultaneously chimed in and pumped their cups up as well.

Naruto was at first startled by the sudden shout from everyone around him, "Uh, thank you Hinata-chan," he sipped from his cup, "I guess there's no way of avoiding them listening to at least _some_ of what we say, so whatever. But, Hinata, I don't want you to refer to me as 'sama' either. It just doesn't suit me very well." Naruto laughed as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry that it has to be like this for now, Tsunade said she had figured out a way to get us out of this mess."

On the Leaf Village's border Tsunade still stared into the clearing, hidden from view from the unlikely gathering she saw in front of her. Nawaki, Dan, Orochimaru and Jiraiya all sat on the ground with a small fire in the middle as they talked. Jiraiya and Orochimaru were in the middle of a heated debate.

"Your boys may be strong, Orochimaru, but mine were always stronger. If you think about it, Nagato was a strong and capable shinobi before that Kabuto of yours was even born out of your spleen, or whatever orifice you spat him out of." Jiraiya confidently boasted, "And Naruto has been many times more powerful than a rinnegan user for years. That Uchiha child of yours is no match against him now."

Orochimaru laughed, "Kukukukuku, there was a time when you were right about that Jiraiya-san. But that time has passed, you'll see." The heinous smile on his face seriously concerned Tsunade.

Nawaki startled Tsunade once again with his presence as he spoke, "Orochimaru-sensei, don't doubt the Sixth Hokage, he's strong." He then turned and looked straight at Tsunade, even though she had made no sound.

"Oneesan!" Nawaki leapt and hugged Tsunade. She stood there overwhelmed by the little boy who had died long, long ago.

"How is this possible, are you here to kill me?" She demanded of the boy and men in front of her.

Orochimaru spoke up, "Tsunade-chan, if we were here to kill you, you would already be dead." He stated simply, crossing his arms and giving her a devilish smile.

A tear fell down her face as she gave in to the sight, dropping to Nawaki's height and joining the embrace. Dan smiled at her and stood as she bawled into Nawaki's shoulder. Jiraiya and Orochimaru watched, both smiling. Tsunade knew that this was no genjutsu, and although she feared that it might be _that_ jutsu, she couldn't refrain from seizing what was probably her only opportunity to hug the men she missed most. She stood and jumped into Dan's arms, they held each other tightly. She made her way to Jiraiya who received her with open arms, then to Orochimaru, who held nothing out to her, but she squeezed the cold-hearted man nonetheless.

Tsunade blinked and wiped the tears away, "Then what is this? Am I dreaming? Did I die of Alcohol poisoning? Because I haven't even drank that much yet." She held up the large sake bottle to reveal a full quarter of it gone.

At the sight of the drink Jiraiya instantly smirked, "Care to share some for old times sake, Tsunade-chan?" Jiraiya asked, mouth watering.

Orochimaru also showed interest, "I haven't had a drink in years." He sat back down and received a cup from her. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this again, Tsunade-chan," the serpentine man licked his mouth, "but Nawaki and Dan can't stay and chat with us." He took the bottle and poured himself and Jiraiya a cup.

Dan and Nawaki then turned to her and Dan spoke, "I'm sorry our reunion had to be so short, but when the time is right we will be together again." The two of them turned and commenced walking into the dark forest.

Tsunade yelled to her old lover, "Wait! I-"

"When the time is right, Tsunade." Echoed Nawari, as they both walked into the forest and disappeared.

Bewildered, Tsunade sat down and took her drink from Jiraiya. She shot it down immediately, causing her teammates to look at each other, not the least surprised by her reaction.

"So, Tsunade," Jiraiya said before he took his last swig of his cup and received more from Orochimaru, "Where should we start?" A sly smile and slight gleam in his eyes could be seen.

Back in Ichiraku's the group had grown ever louder, and the couple in the middle were getting buzzed.


	7. Visitors and Intruders

At the West Gates some visitors who had run past the guards earlier that day to get to see Naruto's coronation had to return and sign themselves in officially. They had caused quite a commotion when they ran straight into town, but once their ranks were discovered there were no complaints to be heard. Chouko, a small girl of about Kama's age, held her mother's hand and wondered what all the commotion had been about.

"Okaasan, who was that yellow-haired man everyone was cheering for?" The little girl asked, twirling her jet-black hair in between her fingers. She wore tiny little glasses that sat at the tip of her nose almost constantly.

"That was Naruto-sama. He's a very important person to this village." Her mother replied sweetly, pinching her daughter's cheek.

Chouko then looked at the others who had _flown_ in right behind them. The two men looked strange to the little girl from the Hidden Mist, they wore coats that covered almost their entire bodies, and one wore purple face paint. The other had a scar above his left eye; the scar formed the symbol for love. The two men looked down at her and a chill ran up her spine. The little girl of about seven years of age hid her face in her mother's leg, pulling her hand down for extra protection.

"Mizukage…" the terrifying man with cold eyes and short red hair said. "I didn't expect you would be coming." His eyes grew colder as he glared at the sword wielder. The two sand shinobi began to walk over and, terrified, Chouko screamed, "Otousan!" as she ran to Suigetsu.

Suigetsu laughed and took off his Mizukage hat and picked up Chouko who continued to hide her face in his chest. He placed his hat on her small head, which always made her feel better, and once it was on she smiled and began to try to balance the massive umbrella of a hat on her head. Now that she finally looked at the two men, from this height they didn't look so intimidating but actually friendly. Also, from up in Suigetsu's arms she could see a little boy poking his head out of a large gourd on the red-haired man's back. The little boy peered out to see the girl, then blushed and ducked back into the gourd.

"Gaara of the desert, I'm glad we managed to run into each other again. Perhaps we could have a re-match?" The Mizukage spoke with a yearning for battle and a one-sided grin on his face. The little girl in his arms had completely forgotten about the adults and was now smiling brightly as she tried to wave to the boy, whose red hair poked out of the hole.

Gaara scoffed, "Still so rude to a fellow Kage. Do you respect no one?" The Mizukage laughed at this and the two shook hands. Gaara, with a small smile, continued, "It seems that your daughter has caught my shy son's attention." Chouko then climbed up on Suigetsu's shoulders and stood to see into the gourd, which, to her surprise and confusion, was filled with sand and nothing else. The little boy now stood behind his Uncle Kankuro.

"He must really take after you, Kazekage-sama." Said Karin, as she pushed her glasses back up to her eyes. "To be using sand techniques like that he must be very talented. You should see my little Chouko with dual swords, she takes after her father." She laughed and squatted down to look at the apprehensive boy.

"His name is Kiyoshi and he knows better than to be impolite and not meet his family's friends." Kankuro said in a stern voice. The boy came out from behind his uncle and bowed graciously.

Karin was impressed with the boy's politeness, "How old are you Kiyoshi?" She asked.

"I'm six." Replied the boy. He then looked up to the girl, "Your name is Chouko, yes? How old are you?"

Chouko flushed and smiled at the handsome, mysterious boy, "I'm seven." She giggled as she climbed back down to the ground. "Do you want to play ninjas?"

Kiyoshi nodded just as Gaara interrupted, "It's getting late, we should try to catch up with Naruto-sama and join the rest of them before the two of you get into your games." He smiled down at Kiyoshi and then at Chouko.

Chouko pouted in response to the kind smile. "Can we play along the way?" She looked from Gaara to her mother, who both agreed.

Across the village a small fire burned as three old friends sat together and spoke on news, old mistakes, intentions and drank. Tsunade Senju sat with Orochimaru and Jiraiya, drinking the night away. She had given up on trying to explain the phenomenon of their presence. She could sense that they were not just clay-covered reanimated corpses, but that they had the true warmth that she had lost long ago.

Orochimaru looked up at her half-lidded gaze, "Tsunade, you know Sasuke Uchiha is coming to destroy the village, don't you?" The smile on his face still showed some of the excitement he felt at world troubles.

"Yes, yes, Naruto told me about it just last night. He can deal with it. I've had enough of this Hokage business. It's just too much stress on an old lady, as much as I hate to admit it." She smiled at Jiraiya, who grimaced back at her. For a moment, she thought that he might actually be doubting his student. She looked over at Orochimaru who also gave her a grim look. A sharp pain began to stab in her side, causing her to wince then itch at the spot.

At Ichiraku's, Naruto and Hinata stared at each other as the drinks flowed through them. They knew that they were probably being watched by the Elder's ANBU, so physical desires were put on hold.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata softly whispered, "I have to say that I was very happy to see you return yesterday alone."

"Alone? I had a bunch of people with me." Naruto informed her.

"No, I mean that you hadn't… _found_ someone while you were away." She said insinuating at something Naruto wasn't picking up.

He looked around at all of the others who surrounded them, then leaned over the table closer to her. "Like who?" He whispered, thinking it was some sort of secret.

"Like a girl…" The Hyuuga whispered back.

Naruto leaned back in his chair and let out a loud laugh, "HA! No, you don't have anyone to worry about." Sakura then leaned close to him and grabbed his ear. "You need to be a little more sensitive Naruto." She violently whispered.

Rubbing his ear once she let go he turned back to Hinata, "No, I wasn't the least interested in anyone else. Like I said earlier, you were constantly on my mind."

A reassured Hinata then sat back as well, "So then you saved yourself too?" She asked, as though he had already answered that question as well.

Naruto didn't need help understanding that one, "Well… not exactly." Hinata's eyes widened.

"Okay," Naruto said as he put his hands up expecting a fist to come at him. "Let me explain. It wasn't by choice." Hinata gave him a look mixed with disbelief and frustration. "Okay, explain." She said sternly.

"We were in Kumogakure, trying to establish a new peace with them after they had betrayed us. Madara's jutsu only worked as long as he was alive, so when he died they called on us to apologize for their actions." Hinata's glare was becoming very unsettling. "I left all of that up to Shikamaru and Temari so I went off to do some research. Whenever Jiraiya said that it meant he was looking for women, I was doing it to try to figure out the solution to suffering."

Hinata interrupted him, "Naruto-kun if you start to tell me that you laid with another woman to find 'peace' I don't know _what_ I will do."

"No, no, no! Okay, so I went to a bar to think while I rested. At that bar they had some belly dancers and stuff, I didn't even look up at any of them. Somehow, one of he dancers knew that I was a Leaf shinobi, even though I wasn't wearing my protector, and worked a genjutsu on me." Hinata crossed her arms and continued the stern gaze.

"Before I knew it I was telling her a ton of secrets about our hideout locations and numbers and before I could tell her that I was one of the Jinchuuriki I woke up to realize that… we had finished. She was a spy for the enemy and was scouting informants in bars, weapons shops, places where war veterans often stop by. Her jutsu was one in which she could get any and all information by… you know." Naruto blushed and drooped his head. "She told me all of this as I was tied up. So, you see, it was against my will Hinata, you have to believe me. I only want… that... with someone special." Naruto struggled and tripped over those last words.

Hinata was once again relieved to know that Naruto was telling the truth but still bothered by something, "So, are you telling me that there is a chance that you might have a…" she trailed off in her sadness.

Naruto once again caught on in the nick of time, "Oh, hell no! I killed her right after she told me everything!"

Hinata's face relaxed, "Oh thank god!" She then leaned forward and hugged him, which Naruto hadn't expected. _She is taking this muuuuuch better than I had imagined_.

As she hugged him she whispered into his ear, tickling him and turning his whole body to jelly, "Just so you know, I have waited for you." This sent an extra tingle down his spine, just before feeling a pang of guilt.

Naruto whispered back, "I'm really sorry."

"Don't be!" Hinata replied, "Sometimes I thought you might die out there, I thought you might have met someone, thought you might not ever come back just because of what I said. You weren't the only one in the war, I served some time too and I know how hard it can become. I'm just so happy that you came back and that you are mine." Hinata sat back in her chair and glowed.

Naruto followed her as she sat back down and by the time she looked up her lips were against his and they started making out once again, this time, in an even less appropriate place and with an equally inappropriate vigor. Hinata kicked the table over to get it out of their way and just as their bodies drew near to one another Sakura grabbed Naruto's shoulders and Kiba grabbed Hinata's and pulled them apart.

"Are we interrupting something?" Karin asked as she walked into the restaurant, Naruto still puckering his lips in his stupor and Hinata a crimson red. Gaara, Kankuro and Suigetsu followed en tow and didn't need to read the scene much before understanding what they had missed.

A toothy grin covered the Mizukage's face; "A Kage can never get a moment alone, eh Naruto?" Suigetsu asked.

After all had done greeting one another Hinata took Naruto aside. "You know that I want to stay, but there are rules that we must follow and rules which I as the next leader of my clan must also follow. I should go home and you should catch up with your friends." She discretely gave his finger a gentle squeeze and said goodbye to the rest of the shinobi. Naruto stared off after he, wishing she were wrong.

The night went on and on for the group and the drinking continued. The children were taken to the Hokage's residence to sleep and the rest of them carried on their celebrating outside the tower where they had all watched the new Hokage's coronation. Laughing, arguing, shouting, teasing, mocking, shouting, dozing off, shouting, and a little more shouting and laughing filled the night. Before long the three Kages had separated themselves from the drunken slurring and comatose sleepers in front of the tower.

The Mizukage began to give Naruto advice on the issue of earning the people's trust: "When I first came to power the people only saw in me what they saw in my brother and the bloody mist's swordsmen. I had to prove my worth not only as a strong shinobi but as a wise and merciful one at that. What I did and what you need to do is seek out any of the village's 'unfinished business' and tear them a new asshole. The more, the better because you will need to leave at least one if not more alive and offer the survivors citizenship in your village or some other accommodation as proof of your mercy." Suigetsu smiled a toothy, devilish grin at Naruto, or near Naruto at least, his eyes were half shut and unfocused as though he were looking at some fly between the two of them.

"No." Gaara, Kazekage of the sand interrupted, "What you need to do, Naruto, is slowly, and painfully earn the people's trust. This will mean much hard work for you and much red tape must be cut to give your citizens more freedom than they have ever seen before. This will show your wisdom and mercy and prove you are worthy of their trust." A surprisingly drunk Gaara tilted one way then the other throughout this and seemed ready to pass out.

Suigetsu huffed at this. "You soft and simple fool of a Kazekage, Naruto's people don't fear him like yours did you, and for good reasons might I add. He has been a hero of this village for years but in the people's eyes is untested as a leader and as such needs to prove himself through brute force!" The Mizukage yelled at Gaara as he pointed his finger in the sand shinobi's face.

Gaara's sand slapped Suigetsu's hand away. "Brainless and overconfident jackass of a Mizukage. As a former and recently renewed Jinchuuriki I assure you that he most certainly _is_ feared by his people and should prove his worth through diligent patience so as not to stir those fears!" Gaara shouted back.

Far away from the quickly changing celebration scene, Tsunade felt her liver beginning to fail and looked up at her two dead friends. "Did you do this?" She asked desperately.

Orochimaru somberly answered, "I already told you that if we were sent to kill you, you would already be dead."

Tsunade activated her creation rebirth seal from her forehead to heal her quickly failing liver to find that some of the poison was still left in her system.

"Lady Tsunade, that will not be enough for the poison I made specifically for you." Said the gray-haired man that stepped out of the shadows. His cloak and appearance was more than enough for her to figure out who it was. "I poisoned the bottle before you even opened it, it has been weakening your deductive reasoning skills and chakra weaving abilities for some time and will now kill you as the last chemical component of the poison enters your brain." Kabuto Yakushi stood before her, the victor of the battle she had no clue that she was in.

Tsunade felt a cold tingling sensation all over her body as her vision became dark. She took all of the very last of her will to weave one last jutsu at her opponent, who simply slapped her hard enough to send her rolling in the dirt several yards. The tunnel vision had depleted nearly all light except for the very dim fire, which she reached out for in her last moment before Kabuto put the fire out and condemned her to darkness.

**Author's Note: Sorry for such a long wait! If you are a fan please comment, especially concerning the newest chapter.**


	8. A Dream

The night of Naruto Uzumaki's inaugural celebration had gone well. There was a cool breeze and the soft sound of leaves brushing up against each other in the nearby forest. Ino, Karin and Shino had all passed out earlier and lay splayed out in the grass, a truly serene night for such an occasion. However, as has become typical between Kazekage Gaara and Mizukage Suigetsu since their very first battle as enemies in the war, an argument had broken out. Naruto interfered by discrediting both of their cases, which turned the brunt of their anger onto him. Neji, the least inebriated of the bunch, suggested that the congregation move outside of the village's walls so that the 'friendly discussion' could continue without bothering the villagers.

Not long after, Naruto, Gaara and Suigetsu all faced off with those still conscious enough sitting far back, creating a chakra barrier that would keep the fight and its noise inside it. Naruto took in a deep breath; Gaara sent his gourd's sand into the dirt around him; and Suigetsu's right arm splashed out violently to summon the kubikiribocho from within it and from his left, samehada. Deadly smiles had grown on all three faces.

"Do you really intend to use both of those swords in a friendly sparring match?" Gaara asked, more an accusation than a question. "_You_ are the real monster here Mizukage." A sand clone began to build up next to him.

Naruto interfered before his ally from the mist could reply: "Gaara, when did you start fearing swordsmen? I didn't realize that your absolute defense would fade over time. If you are so concerned for your well being maybe the Kazekage should sit this one out? And Suigetsu, I don't think your swords would really change the results either way, but if you feel that you need them then so be it."

The Mizukage, with a smirk, was the first to charge, as fast as wind and as powerful as a tidal wave, Naruto dashed forward to meet him. Both were wary of the motionless Kazekage and his clone as the two met in a clash that rumbled like thunder within the barrier. Gaara knew he couldn't match their speed, so he built a sand dome around him and slowly began to sink within the earth itself. Naruto had a series of kage bunshin summoned and dispelled in order for him to inch closer and closer to the master swordsman, slashing and shredding through the clones. Naruto simply kept his eyes closed and his hands quickly making the signs in order for the clones to appear in time to move him closer to Suigetsu and out of harms way.

Gaara's clone flew across the field to join the fight, gliding on the sand as though it was surfing through it. The clone split into two and attacked on both sides of the action. Suigetsu's back violently splashed out to reveal a third arm holding the Shibuki, which exploded at the clone, blowing it away. Naruto summoned an extra two clones and they charged at Gaara's, both holding rasengans. The first was crushed by Gaara's desert coffin before he could use the rasengan but the second arrived faster than anything Gaara had ever seen. In a bolt of yellow, the kage bunshin destroyed the clone and then itself, disappeared.

This seemed to be a waste of chakra to both the Mizukage and the Kazekage but neither knew that Naruto had mastered natural energy. He had discovered that he could recollect the chakra once the jutsu had been undone, in just the same way he could collect natural chakra. Thus hardly using up any energy at all, except for that which samehada ate up, a miscalculation that Naruto noticed and righted once he was close enough.

Curious, Gaara had summoned three 'third eyes' and watched the battle from varying points of view. Naruto was finally within Suigetsu's guard and delivered a sharp jab to his face and a rasengan to his left arm, sending samehada flying away. The Mizukage blew Naruto back with a kick that started as a foot and ended as an explosion of water on his chest, simultaneously shooting water from the stub of his arm out to reconnect with his forearm, samehada in hand. Before either one of them could clash again a series of sand spikes shot out from the ground, giving the two terrestrial kages only an instant to touch the ground beneath them before having to jump again to the next safe location.

Both Naruto and Suigetsu knew that they needed to locate and end Gaara's tirade of assault, and both searched for the air holes he would need in order to breathe. The spikes stopped, though, before they could find their hidden foe or his air-source. The two took the opportunity to clash once again. When they hit this time the sound could be heard through the barrier and even from within the village. Naruto was knocked out.

He dreamed that night. He saw Tsunade reaching out to him, blood dripping from her mouth, then giving up in despair before going limp. He saw Jiraiya and Kakashi both walking out from a dark forest. He had seen them in his dreams before, but on that night he feared them. They had come to kill him. His crying mother and comforting father looked on from the side as Naruto tried to back away from his two masters, who seemed to only suck him in closer, their faces a deadly stone-like stillness. The closer he was drawn to them the larger they seemed to grow, when he reached their feet they towered over him. They looked down on him then stepped over him as though he were nothing. He saw Nagato and the six paths of Pain in the distance, destroying his village once again. He felt Sasuke's presence directly behind him, the icy breath of a man who wants revenge on his neck. No matter how fast Naruto could turn, his enemy was still right behind him. Hinata desperately shouted to him, trying to tell him something, but no sound came from her.

_Naruto…_ The fox's voice could be heard from deep within himself. _Naruto, wake up. They are __**both**__ here!_ The nine-tailed fox entered his dream and tried to cover his eyes before the final image presented itself but he was too late. Deep within his dream Naruto desperately clawed at his surroundings, trying to get away from it. He saw Hinata, lying up against a tree, the village far behind her burning and demolished, only a few grim wails could be heard from within the mass grave. He looked at Hinata, bleeding profusely from wounds all over her body. She opened her mouth and the blood sprayed out of it with a cough. She whispered something through the mess as she stared at him. Naruto leaned closer to hear her, looking at the familiar burned flesh on her neck that he too had experienced. She managed to say it one last time, "Selfish."

Naruto woke up the following morning to Kama poking at his face. "Are you still alive?" Kama said with a doubtful look on his face.

The Hokage jumped from his bed, startled. "What happened? –ooooooh." He sat back down with his hands desperately trying to cradle the pain in his head away. Much of the nightmare had already been forgotten.

Kama scoffed at his sensei, "Only the most lame fight I have ever seen you in." He laughed obnoxiously in the Kage's face.

Naruto grumbled something about teaching him a lesson before getting to the point: "What happened? I don't remember a thing." He picked up the glass of water next to the Hokage's bed in the Hokage's residence and gulped down the entire cup.

Kama trailed off in his laughter, "No shit you don't remember, I've never seen you so wasted!" Naruto smacked Kama on the head for cursing, then Kama continued with his compelling story: "You, the guy wearing the desert cloak and the guy with the long white-purple hair had all been arguing about the best way to be a Kage, which turned into who history would call the best Kage, then to who was the strongest Kage. Before anyone else knew it the three of you were marching out of the village to have a sparring match to see who was the strongest."

_Thank god,_ thought Naruto, _at least we left the village._ Naruto got up slowly and slumped his way over to the closet.

Kama continued: "The three of you demanded that a barrier be put up so no one else could interfere, at which point you saw me there and asked that I help to set it up. Personally I was surprised you were okay with me being there but I guess grownups don't think normally when they drink. Anyway, that guy with the sharp teeth pulled out a couple of swords, and the three of you just stared at each other for a while and I think I heard you tell the red-haired guy he should 'shit on some gout'. You and the sword-guy charged in and ended up running into one another. The guy with the forehead tattoo just started digging a hole and creating sand clones to skate around the place while you started summoning kage bunshin to throw each other around and the swordsman was just swinging his swords at trees and stuff." Naruto was beginning to feel ill and embarrassed.

"At this point things got really confusing but I think I've figured it out. The red-haired guy must have fallen asleep and started dreaming or something at that point because sand-tentacle-like-things were just flopping around on the ground. I think you had conceived one of your masterful plans and had transformed one of your clones to look like the shark-toothed guy, and the real one was still whacking away at a tree. You must have forgotten about the transformed clone because when the redhead's tentacle flopping stopped you charged right at the clone and knocked yourself out. The sword-wielder kept slashing insanely at the tree for a while until he cut off a branch that in turn fell and knocked _him_ out. All in all, a very funny night."

"And what the hell was everyone else doing?" Naruto demanded.

Kama laughed hysterically, "We were all just watching and making fun of the three of you, even the guy who hadn't smiled even a little bit the whole night… the puppet user with face paint!" Kama turned around while Naruto got changed. "Me and the other kids started watching y'all when you started shouting at each other and I was just a little curious to see what it was all about so I came down and MAN am I glad I did!"

Naruto slapped him on the head and bent down to his eye level, "Kama…" Naruto peered deeply into Kama's eyes, "If you say one word about this I **will** have to kill you. Promise to your father or not."

Kama gulped hard to try to swallow the fear in his voice. "The other adults made me promise not to already. They said it would be bad for the villages."

Naruto stood back up confidently, the hangover already passing. "Good. I'm off to see Hinata for the day but I will leave a few clones here to take care of official business. Please don't tell anyone where I am and _don't follow us_." Naruto said as he jumped out the side window, leaving Kama and his two shadow clones behind.

A few miles north of the village a man in tattered clothes and with black hair walked on the road towards Konoha. Not far from the trail in the forest a shadow clone was dispersed and the man with black hair grinned sportively.


	9. Greetings

As Naruto leapt out the window he hoped with all his might that Hinata would never hear what happened the night before. Also, that he wouldn't run into the Kazekage or the Mizukage. _The embarrassment and awkwardness would be too much._ Naruto thought to himself.

**You're telling me.** The Nine-tailed fox scoffed at him. **To be involved in another battle with Shukaku and not be able to really let loose was infuriating and **_**especially**_** embarrassing to **_**me**_**.**__The Kyuubi sounded more frustrated than amused now.

_I'm sorry Kyuubi; I'm not really sure why I even got involved._ Naruto knew the Fox had a great pride in being the most powerful of all the tailed beasts and more importantly in Naruto as being the most powerful Jinchuuriki to have ever lived. As he travelled over the rooftops and tree branches Naruto felt pride in it too. _Unfortunately for us both I don't think there will ever be a rematch, as fun as it would be. Gaara is a good friend of mine and it would only scare the people into war if we even slightly let loose in a sparring match._

The Fox scoffed again, his temper under control again. **Did you get my message last night? You were dealing with one hell of a fucked up nightmare. I was enjoying it until that damned boy showed up.**

Naruto instantly flashed back to the sight of Hinata's tears running down her face and disappearing in all of the blood. A shiver ran down his spine as he saw her mouth form her last word, the red bubbling under her tongue and dripping from her chin. He stirred from his vision, "What message?"

**I will show you what I saw while you drank and slept.** Naruto found a discrete spot to sit and was then thrust into the Fox's memory. While Naruto slept, the Fox always took over many of his shadow clone sentries and watched over most of the Land of Fire. It was part of their perfect partnership forged after the battle at Shinobi Mountain, which was unique to that of any tailed demon and their host. Naruto gained the Nine-tail's respect.

Naruto saw through one of his clone's eyes, everything a shade of red, and saw a figure in the distance racing into the country. Then, later on at almost dawn, he saw the same figure racing through the trees. A closer point of view allowed him to see the white uwagi the man wore with his black hakama, both tattered. Not all that uncommon in the world, but what concerned Naruto was on the man's back, where a marker for one's ancestry had been ripped off. That, and the sword.

**Do you see?** The Fox waited, curious to see Naruto's reaction. Naruto thought quickly then summoned and dispelled a clone. This clone served as his message to all other clones to look out for the man. He waited to see if any of his sentries could find him and almost instantly received his answer. Only a matter of miles north of the village Sasuke Uchiha was on the secret path that lead straight to the Leaf. He had slowed his pace and seemed to be aware of Naruto's guard before it was dispelled.

**The Uchiha, as well as that infernal Yakushi, can cause quite a problem, don't you think?** The Fox was growing excited and yearned to clash with Kabuto's jutsu again, as well as put Sasuke in his place. **Could they be working together? **He hoped they were.

Naruto thought on this. _I very much doubt that. Sasuke is too arrogant to think he needs help and even more importantly, almost no one knows that he is alive. We only told the others as a precautionary measure. Besides, it would have been in his best interest to stay hidden from those who had hunted him for revenge and from Kabuto especially. Just like his master, Kabuto probably wants the Sharingan._

**It would be foolish for you to think that you could take them both on and protect the village at the same time. We should strike the Uchiha while we still know where he is!** The Fox was content with this logic and expected Naruto to agree without even a word.

_Actually, this is working out exactly as I had planned; or hoped, at least._ Naruto smirked to himself. _Just leave it to me; I have it all under control._

The Fox then slipped into silence as he thought on what Naruto's plan might be, excited for the action to begin. Naruto then resumed on his way to the Hyuuga compound and felt a chill run down his spine. Another part of his dream came to the forefront: Tsunade's body going limp in the light of a dim fire. With Senjutsu he took only a moment to search before finding her chakra in the Counselor's room of the Leaf's capital building, completely fine.

Naruto finally decided to stop worrying about dreams and began planning his day with the shinobi teacher. Before he knew it he had arrived at the compound and stood at its gate. The two Hyuuga guards took a moment pondering what the Hokage would be doing there on his first day of office before quickly bowing down, both sweating wildly hoping they had not shown a lack of respect.

"Hey guys." Naruto greeted them with a smile gesturing them to stand up, "Could you do me a big favor?" still, the warm smile on his face.

Inside the compound all of the Hyuuga elders and elites had collected in a meeting, most still conversing on the new Hokage and whether he would or wouldn't do well. Hinata, along with Hanabi, sat at the middle of the huge table the congregation sat around, next to their father. She wore the traditional robes one must wear to those sorts of meetings and furiously stared at the clock, hoping she could make time pass by faster.

One of the guards knocked gently on the open doorframe as he sat bowed waiting for a reply. Hiashi asked the guard to come in and he whispered Naruto's message to Hiashi. "Ladies and Gentlemen," Hiashi said once the guard had left the room, "You will have to excuse my daughter and successor, Hinata. Hokage Sama has requested her for a very important mission immediately." Hiashi briefly smiled to his daughter before returning to his usual scowl. Hinata bowed graciously as her father took her hand under the table and gave it a light squeeze out of affection, something she rarely experienced.

The elder Hyuuga women all giggled and whispered to one another while the men all glared with disapproval. Not over Naruto, but rather most of the conservative family approved of the rule that Hokage were not allowed to court lovers. Hinata stood and calmly walked out the door. Once she was out of the others' eyesight she bolted for her room to change clothes.

Naruto stood on the other side of the tall fence, back straight, hands clasped behind his back, in full Hokage uniform and whistling like he hadn't a worry in the world. Hinata waited a moment to enjoy his contented patience only yards away while she took it all in and calmed her heart. His masculine build combined with the almost regal robe nearly melted her where she stood. Naruto on the other hand was stopped dead in his whistle as a soft breeze brought him the fragrance of heavenly delight. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath in through his nose to savor her scent then took off his kasa.

Naruto turned around to be stunned once again by Hinata's kimono. No matter how often he saw her figure in such a tightly wrapped, thin cloth he couldn't keep his head on straight. It wasn't even so provocative as the one she wore on his night back; this one was meant for battle, but with grace. He took the moment to recollect himself. Without a word Hinata walked up to him then looked up into his eyes. Naruto responded by gently putting his hand up to her face. The sensation of his fingers on her neck and his thumb on her cheek was invigorating. He then placed his forehead up against hers. The warmth of his flesh made her head spin.

The guards, so moved by the simple but passionate embrace, watched out of the corner of their eyes. They attempted to hide the tears freely flowing from their cheeks, sniffling quietly as they stood watch over the gate.

Hinata could feel their energies intertwining, his mind and hers connected, their feelings clasped together, their hearts beating as one. So sweet and tranquil was that moment but was interrupted by a presence in her mind.

**Hello, Hyuuga girl.** Said the demon Fox in her mind. Hinata's eyes shot open. **Are you so sure that you know this boy?** Hinata, terrified by the immense chakra, couldn't move and her body began to tremble. Naruto felt Hinata shaking uncontrollably and stepped back. He lifted her head gently by the chin to lock eyes with her. The fear she portrayed befuddled him.

"Hinata, what's the matter?" He asked in a caring voice.

Hinata opened her mouth and mumbled almost inaudibly, the only word Naruto managed to hear was: "Fox". He immediately realized what the Fox had done and a silent dialogue between the two commenced while he sat her down on the side of the path.

Naruto, done reprimanding the darkly playful chakra beast, then slid an arm around the frightened woman. "I'm sorry for that. Once when Sakura was healing a wound of mine he did the same to her. He gets bored sometimes and can be a real asshole, but I took care of it, he won't do it again, I swear."

Hinata took a calming breath, "Is he always in your head like that?" she asked.

Naruto scrunched his eyes up in thought, "Well, he's always present but he doesn't constantly talk. Most often it's just when he gets interested in something happening. He's actually really resourceful in battle, he has centuries of experience and a large knowledge of jutsu from seeing them firsthand."

Hinata then interrupted, "he asked me if I was sure I knew you, what did he mean by that?"

Naruto scowled, "Again, I'm sorry, but he was just trying to fuck with you and intimidate you. He is a very prideful, and hateful, creature and wants to make sure no one looks down on him just because he has been sealed within me." Naruto cursed at the Nine-tails again in silence. "He technically is a truly evil creature but ever since I earned his respect and trust he has shown a much kinder side to him, even helping me train Kama." Naruto smiled to Hinata, who finally smiled back.

"I trust you Naruto." Hinata said. They both stood up and embarked on their walk together, aimless and perfectly content. Hinata took Naruto's hand and clasped it tightly. Naruto blushed and couldn't hold back his goofy grin of excitement.

A few minutes later Hinata looked up at Naruto, "Tell me about Kama. Yesterday he actually formed a rasengan and he looks no older than seven or eight years old, how is that possible?"

"He really is an amazing shinobi. He learns very quickly and on top of that his parents passed down much of their own abilities to him. He has shown a superb talent in lightning release like his father, He has his mother's swiftness, aim, and a natural ability to use the hidden shadow snake hand technique."

Hinata's eyes widened, "Isn't that the technique that Orochimaru taught her? How could a learned technique be passed down genetically?"

"Actually Anko was branded with some of Orochimaru's own chakra by the cursed seal of heaven. Anko's body took on those attributes of Orochimaru and must have passed it onto Kama." Naruto replied. "What's very interesting is that apparently the snakes protect him in much the same way Kazekage Gaara's sand does, without his consent; although it's hardly an 'absolute defense', it has the advantage of entangling the enemy… among other things."

"The first time it happened he was only four years old while we were training. I had him backed into a corner and out of his sleeves came at least a dozen white snakes, which he later said he had not summoned. Afterwards I told him that it is his mother's love for him, always protecting him." Naruto paused briefly, deep in his thoughts. "The scary thing is that they had attempted to bite me. I have tested the venom over time and found that the poison is getting stronger and stronger. In the beginning it would have only numbed the areas it entered but today it could momentarily paralyze a full-grown man."

Naruto continued, "Even stranger is what Kakashi sensei must have passed down to him: some variant or power of the sharingan. He can keep up with even my fastest sign weaving! He doesn't seem to have the chakra control needed to mimic the jutsu yet, but I imagine that he will in only a matter of years."

Hinata, walking next to him with her eyes closed, nodded silently. "War breeds great and powerful weapons. But don't you think you are pushing him too hard?"

Naruto thought on that for a moment while scratching his chin. "Maybe so, but it was necessary at the time. I couldn't fight off entire battalions of Tobi's creatures and protect Kama. I suppose I didn't trust those I ordered to protect him and so many times I had to leave him with Sakura or someone else. I needed to know that he could take care of himself."

Naruto then sighed reluctantly. "You might not approve of this but there is one more thing and hear me out. I sealed the two-tailed cat inside of him. He is a Jinchuuriki too. On top of that I decided to keep it a secret from nearly everyone except Sakura, Tsunade Sama and Kama. I suppose I did so based on bias from my own childhood. Some of the people of this village are too simple and would only fear him and thus hate him. I sealed it within him using the Uzumaki family scrolls. They were specialists at sealing jutsu and on top of that I am almost always at his side. If the Two-tails were to take over, I, with the help of the Nine-tails, would be able to contain it. But it won't be much longer before he is ready to tame the beast, which we will also help him through."

Hinata thought about this for a moment than repeated what she had said earlier, "I trust you, Naruto-_Sama_." she added teasingly.

They then dropped all other issues and spent the rest of the day focused on each other. Later that night, after dropping her off back at the Hyuuga compound, Naruto went home to the Hokage residence, laid in his bed, and smiled uncontrollably until he fell asleep.

The following morning Naruto initiated his preparations for the day he had been waiting for. After creating several shadow clones to head out and take their positions, Naruto got dressed in full Hokage attire. The Leaf's northern gate guards were surprised to see him so early, and leaving the village, but he calmed their nerves. "Just taking a walk guys. No need for concern." He left the Leaf and started on the hidden path out of Konohagakure.

Thinking about the previous day, Naruto walked briskly on the path, a wide smile on his face. He lifted hands behind his head leaning back to enjoy the sunlight seeping through the zigzagging canopy. He was headed for the Valley of the End; the place where, in his mind, all of this had begun. Naruto saw a figure not far up ahead and knew that Sasuke had the same place in mind.

"Hey," Naruto greeted his old rival, "what's wrong, too impatient to wait for me there? Or did you want to walk alongside your friend one last time and catch up on the way?" Naruto grinned.

"Neither." Sasuke replied dryly, "Although the Valley would be a great place for reflecting back on our friendship and encounters since then, I'm not much of one for nostalgia. This will do just fine." Sasuke smirked, a scar running across the left side of his lips. Naruto remembered giving it to him well.

Naruto stood only a few yards away from Sasuke, looking at the old, ragged kimono he wore that lacked the Uchiha crest he usually sported. He could tell that after surviving 'Shinobi Mountain' Sasuke had gone into hiding, probably spending at least the first year in physical treatment. Naruto knocked his geta together to eliminate any loose soil from them; the grin had left his expression. He looked down to check them as he spoke, "Before we begin, may I ask a personal question?" he inquired.

Sasuke huffed, "Sure." He looked almost bored.

Naruto looked back up to him as dozens of his kage bunshin calmly walked out of the dark forest, all with serious expressions, an intent to kill. Sasuke never broke his gaze from the original, a sly smile barely noticeable on his face.

"Actually it's a two part question. Firstly, and this is one I've been meaning to ask you a long time but never got around to it, what did Itachi say to you right before he died?"

Whatever playfulness Sasuke portrayed, up until then, left him immediately when he heard his brother's name. Resentment filled his entire being when he replied "He said: 'I'm sorry. There won't be a next time.' And then he died." The Uchiha took a deep breath, trying to hold back the anger.

Naruto took his jacket off, exposing some of the scars he too had received four years ago. Sasuke found comfort in the prominent marks that chidori left on its victim. Naruto tossed the jacket aside and looked back up at his enemy, his face expressionless. "You seem to have found so much love for Itachi and the rest of your departed clan, so what about your daughter? How could you have become such a puppet to that Uchiha imposter? You do realize that Tobi is dead right? He died at the hands of Kakashi Sensei." Naruto demanded, his face growing serious.

Sasuke became icy cold and matched Naruto's serious face. "That's more than two questions."

Naruto knew that the time for any answers had passed a long time ago. The Jinchuuriki offered his enemy one warning: "Sasuke, I'm sorry but I can't let you any closer to the Leaf."

Sasuke crowed with laughter, "Do you really think you will be able to stop me? Naruto, these eyes will see through everything you do this time, you have no more tricks up your sleeve! After I finish you off I will go on to your precious home and burn the entire village to the ground!" Sasuke conjured the sharingan; his eyes wide open with excitement.

"Sasuke, you would have no chance against me now, but that's not the point. I will not kill you." Naruto said, many of his clones gathering nature's energy and going into sage mode.

"Same Naruto as ever, always believing in things that simply do not exist." Sasuke chuckled, "That is why you will finally die by my han-" Sasuke was shocked when Naruto's shadow suddenly slid across the ground and latched onto his own, forcing him frozen in his place.

"Naruto, how…" Sasuke suddenly realized why Naruto had so many clones already in the forest even before they met up. They were to blend and at the same time divert his attention from the rest of the Konoha Eleven that hid behind Naruto. The colors of their chakra were unnoticeable behind Naruto's massive Kyuubi chakra.

Naruto smirked at his once rival before being dispelled in a cloud of smoke. "What I meant to say was I'm not going to do anything to you Sasuke." Another Naruto walked out from amongst the shadows and pulled Shikamaru out from his hiding spot in the dirt beneath the spot the shadow clone had stood. This Naruto wore the Hokage robe and kasa. "You have caused many problems for me, Sakura, the Leaf, and all of your comrades over the past several years Sasuke, and for that you will be punished." Naruto glared at the Uchiha as the final words rumbled out almost as a growl.

Sasuke, body still frozen in place, howled at the sight before him. "I thought you said 'how could anyone become Hokage without even being able to save a friend'. Have you finally given up hope Naruto? Were you so impatient to get the 'crown' that you would abandon _me_ your dearest and closest friend? And to hide behind all of your so-called 'comrades'… it's so pathetic." Sasuke said provokingly. "This will only expedite their fate Naruto. But at least you won't have to carry that on your conscience for long, you will die shortly after."

Naruto cackled back at the demented missing nin, "Sasuke you really are an arrogant asshole aren't you? Yes, you were and are a genius of the ninja arts. But have you ever stopped to think about what that means? Before you are multiple specialists in the forms of taijutsu and ninjutsu that you are amazing at, at best. The only thing you excel over them at is genjutsu. And I think we _both_ know that that will be useless here." He said, indicating towards his ten shadow clones all around them.

Naruto then turned around briefly, making eye contact with every one of his teammates; signaling that it would begin soon. Hinata nodded confidently to her Hokage. He turned back to Sasuke who also knew that the beginning was near. "And to reply to your first statement, I _have_ saved you. That's why they are here. Besides, I have bigger fish to fry than you at the moment." He then turned and started walking away. "Don't kill him." He said as he passed the group, more specifically to Neji and Sakura. "We know." Neji coldly replied.

Finally, Naruto turned his head and added: "Welcome home Sasuke, we've really missed you."

*Author's Note: Concerning Naruto and Hinata's day together, don't worry. All will be told, and more, in the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed this one*


	10. The Unfinished Tale

**Author's Note: This will be the last chapter I put out. Obviously I have lost focus and/or interest in the story (to my own dismay) over time. It is unfinished but what I have managed to get done I decided to share. I wanted to take more time to focus on my own work but I would really like to hear what any remaining readers think of where I left the story. Also, anybody wanting to continue, finish, change completely, use my OC's, or whatever may do so but please at least leave me a message telling me so. Thanks to all of my followers and critics and I hope you have enjoyed the short ride as much as I have. –Thomas**

With the Hokage's absence, it began. Ino Yamanaka used her mind-body switch jutsu to further contain Sasuke in his place. Suddenly, Sasuke's skin and clothes turned grey and fell to the ground like silk. _Snakeskin clones?_ Shikamaru exclaimed to himself in surprise. Shikamaru then jumped back just in time as two snakes burst out of the ground to snap down centimeters short of his ankles. The snakes quickly zipped back into the holes as though violently pulled from the other side.

"Above!" Neji shouted. The entire group looked up to see Sasuke flying through the air, landing gracefully on a giant golden-brown hawk. Weaving hand signs furiously, Sasuke and the hawk began a jet-like nosedive towards Shikamaru. Dozens of kunai zipped through the air towards Sasuke as he released a great fireball. The massive hawk then thrust its wings forward blowing the kunai back down and halting the Uchiha and his summon dead in the air. Kiba, weaving hand signs of his own, and Akamaru leapt forward and puked a line of mud across the ground, which immediately grew and hardened into rock. The fireball then exploded by the force of the wind and crashed against Kiba's earth-style wall.

The bright flames licked around the edges of the barrier as Kiba and Akamaru both stood their ground confidently. However, at the end of the fire's barrage there was a loud CRACK! sound behind and the wall crumbled apart as a chidori stream flowed through the links of chakra and mud, severing them. Through the dust of the now utterly breached barrier two Sasukes leapt past Kiba and dashed toward the rest of the shinobi. As all braced for impact the two clones came to a screeching halt and released several flame flowers into the crowd. As the bunch had to separate and scatter in order to avoid being hit the original Sasuke, with his right eye in Mangekyo form, flew overhead on the hawk straight for the village.

* * *

A little less than twenty-four hours earlier, Naruto and Hinata walked hand-in-hand. Naruto loved the softness of Hinata's hands in his. He cared little for the village's rules and had already decidedly fallen for her before being named Hokage. This was reason enough to overrule any laws in his mind. He would have her, Hokage or not. He remembered every night after Pain's attack on the Leaf, no matter what his mind would be drawn to thoughts of her, of her confession, of her 'love'. He would lay awake every night contemplating what that love meant to her. What her love meant to him. And although there were many nights when he doubted his feelings to be real, the thought always returned: _She said she loved me._

It was this thought that drove him to madness, to tranquility, to yearning and to denial. It was insufferable that she would deliver this message to him in such a turbulent point in his life, yet it was a godsend. Over time the thought became more and more desperate, he worried its significance to her might be fading. He was resolute during his return to the Leaf, to find Hinata and discover its true meaning and if the feeling still remained.

As they walked along the path, Hinata felt fearful that showing such affection in public could destroy Naruto's position in the village. However, the Jinchuuriki seemed to have no doubts about their display of affection, but she had to be sure. "Naruto, how are we going to do this? If it is prohibited for the Hokage to take…" Hinata blushed furiously at the thought but bravely pushed through the final word, "… a woman. Shouldn't we keep this a secret?"

Naruto cheerfully looked down upon the doubting heiress, "Apparently there's a way to make this possible." Naruto slightly lifted their intertwined hands, gesturing to it. "Tsunade-sama said that she has a plan to help us." Naruto was once again plagued by the visions in his nightmare; the blood and desperation. Not noticing Naruto's change in expression to that of deep thought, Hinata was comforted by this.

Many things about Naruto comforted her. The confident and nearly always upbeat stride in his step, his humble beginnings, the never-ending determination he put into anything he did, his simplicity and sure-mindedness, his strong but relaxed shoulders occasionally brushing against her own despite their height difference; her step bounced slightly out of joy at the time. From the very beginning she knew him to made of the stuff that great men are born from. Now she felt even more than ever before that somewhere within all of his attributes was the one that could really create peace in this world. _Or maybe a lucky and rare combination of all of them makes it possible,_ Hinata puzzled to herself.

As they strolled aimlessly away from the Hyuuga compound Naruto and Hinata both felt the presence watching them and stopped. A hooded figure crouched in a tree nearby stood up and reached into his coat.

"Hokage Uzumaki," The hooded man didn't have time to get more than those two words out before a yellow flash bolted toward him. Too fast for Hinata to follow the thick branch cracked in half and the shadow-cloaked man was in the street in front of Hinata, now bathed in the revealing sunlight.

* * *

A green blur flashed below Sasuke and far ahead of his sight as he rode his summoned war hawk. Before he had a chance to even brace himself he was doubled over Rock Lee's knee, flying backwards through tree branches and out into an open field. After colliding back to Earth he rolled along the ground violently before correcting himself, the dirt building up behind his feet in his momentum. "Not much seems to have changed Sasuke-san! It's no use to see something if your body can't keep up!" Lee's provoking did little to influence the Uchiha's calm. Sasuke enacted his full-body chidori, as the green beast charged for a second collision.

The rest of the Konoha Eleven were too busy dealing with the two clones to join Lee at the moment. On the fringe of forest that surrounded the field where the last genius of the Uchihas and the genius of effort squared off, Kiba and Hinata and Sakura and Shikamaru were separated from the rest and fighting off the clones. Sasuke peered far into the scuffle with his hawk-like eyes, his right still maintaining the Mangekyo.

Shikamaru created a literal shadow clone with his traditional technique and it slid across the ground silently towards the Sasuke copy as Sakura charged chakra into her fists. With Lee gaining ground on Sasuke, the murderous avenger had to pay more attention to the enemy at hand. As Shikamaru's shadow attacked, Sasuke's clone grabbed the shadow and suddenly became Amaterasu and the dark flames enveloped the shadow and raced along the line that connected it to Shikamaru. _The fire can even burn a shadow? _Shikamaru thought frantically to himself. Sakura pounded the earth and a massive boulder of earth erupted from the ground that the black flames were forced to begin climbing up, giving Shikamaru the room needed to separate from the shadow. Once disconnected from the shadow copy of Shikamaru, the brilliant strategist watched as the last of the Amaterasu flames ate up his clone and extinguished there.

"It's called Blaze release," The other clone cackled dementedly, "and it's all I need to kill you all, here and now!" However, before the clone had the chance to explode in all directions in all-consuming flames, the real Sasuke was forced to release the technique altogether by a relentlessly fast and on-coming Lee. The clone became a small black flame and once it was finished burning the small bit of air it was clinging to, it was extinguished.

The Sharingan wielder, electricity sparking violently around his body, drew his sword and slashed at the ground with it. A wave of sparks slid across the dirt towards Lee who vanished from sight instantly. Sasuke smirked dangerously as he slashed his chidori stream twice more, leaving only one path for the Taijutsu specialist. Lee took the bait and rushed through the opening as Sasuke released his Mangekyo Sharingan and used what had become a simple technique for the prodigal Uchiha, Tsukuyomi. To Sasuke's dismay with little time to react, the hot-blooded ninja was unaffected by the ultimate offensive genjutsu, and hadn't even been looking at Sasuke. Lee had been staring at the ground near Sasuke's feet from the very beginning.

Sasuke built up the chakra in his full-body chidori quickly, _If I am to take another attack from him, it will be the last in this battle,_ Sasuke schemed angrily. However, it seems Rock Lee had one more trick from his mentor up his sleeve. Without even getting near the dangerous, paralyzing sparks of the chidori armor, Lee compressed the air particles between his fist and Sasuke's right eye with a powerful punch. The brief implosion of air was followed by a mighty explosion of force as the vengeful Uchiha broke the sound barrier flying across the field and into the forest once again.

* * *

"Captain Yamato!" Hinata exclaimed, hoping to get through to Naruto before his next strike. "Why were you watching us? Did someone send you?" Hinata began to worry before Yamato even had a chance to answer: _Does someone know about Naruto and I? Is something wrong? Will they try to bribe the Hokage? Will they force Naruto to make a decision? Is Naruto going to choose being Hokage over me? I can't handle this a second time! What if this was just a practical joke on me from the very beginning? Is Yamato here just to tell Naruto he has gone too far? Where will I go if it __**is**__ a joke? I couldn't stay here it would be too embarrassing! How dare Naruto embarrass me like this!_ Without noticing Hinata had gone through a color wheel of facial expressions. This had not escaped Yamato's attention, but he had a point to make.

"Madame Hyuuga, Hokage Naruto, I came to tell you both that you must put an end to this right now!"

* * *

Careening through the forest with several dangerous shinobi en tow, Sasuke knew he didn't have a chance to kill them all and still have the energy to fight off Naruto, not to mention the rest of the village. _I need to get to the village first, create panic. Amaterasu would do the rest while I take advantage of the chaos._ However, with his eye swelling up rapidly and being on his enemy's turf, he had to move quickly and avoid fighting them for the moment.

Sasuke charged chakra to his hands and began to direct himself around the branches he was previously smashing through. After a moment, those following him saw that he was no longer flying through the air uncontrollably but was running from them and turning towards the village.

As he leapt from branch to branch and evading the endless kunai jutsu Tenten had activated Sasuke checked behind him to realize that one of them was missing. Just as suddenly Sakura appeared ahead of him, sitting on a branch that he was headed for. She looked up at him and spat out dozens of poisoned senbon.

"Ha! Sakura-san you didn't really think you could put a genjutsu over _me_ did you?" Sasuke continued, undeterred, as the senbon and Sakura phased straight through him. "Although I have to admit, your illusions have improved!" The Uchiha cackled again maliciously.

Lee once again managed to race ahead of the Uchiha and attacked, but this time with less fervor, _that punch must have taken a bit out of him_. Sasuke managed to block most of the attacks, with a few deep blows landing in his ribs and a couple kicks to his inner thigh. Sasuke's body refused to take more and as one of his blocks made contact with Lee's punch, a surge of electricity passed over to him. Blasted backwards, Lee crumbled at the base of a tree as Sasuke descended on him with a sharp and powerfully charged chidori ready to strike.

Hinata, the first to arrive, hit Sasuke with a direct twin lion fist to Sasuke's side. The avenger rolled only briefly in the dirt before correcting himself and peering straight through Hinata and her Byakugan. Hinata stared back at the menacing Uchiha, his aura full of hate and loathing, his right eye was completely shut by the swelling, his body and clothes a dirty mess but his face showed no expression, no exhaustion. He drew his sword of Kusanagi slowly and quietly while staring into her eyes, putting her into a fast coming and tranquil trance. The sword made a calming ringing noise in her ear, almost like a bell chiming but in slow motion. Hinata's eyes glazed over and began to close; she could almost see Naruto as though she were already dreaming. In her lucid daydream Naruto put his hand out caringly but then shouted her name in Neji's voice.

"HINATA-SAMA!" Hinata was stirred from her trance but a moment too late. Sasuke charged at Hinata with the chokuto in hand, the sound of his chidori screaming while electrifying the blade. He lifted the sword and pointed it at her chest but Neji appeared at Sasuke's side and thrusted a powerful jyuuken dangerously close to the determined Uchiha. Sasuke leapt away swiftly to once again have Neji right at his side on the offensive. Realizing there was no way for him to get away from Neji in the dense and dark forest Sasuke sheathed his sword and built up chakra to the tips of his fingers once again.

Sasuke began backing away in double strides while trying to get his own chidori strikes through to Neji. However, Hinata joined in on the assault, thrusting some of her own gentle fist strikes, both barely missing while Sasuke blocked carefully and dodged the attacks. Two pureblooded Hyuugas attacked ferociously as Sasuke blocked chakra-stopping jyuukens and dodged chakra-hindering gentle fists coming from two angles; his sharingan had never been so physically tested before. The blood-lusting Uchiha, ever strategizing, manifested a chidori stream strong enough in Neji's direction to push him back at least for a moment to take an extra four strides-worth of a leap back to weave the signs necessary for fire release.

Seeing Sasuke's plan to single her out, the Hyuuga heiress then used a strange new form of the heavenly spin by placing her hand on the ground and thrusting her legs above her. As she began the spin, with flames from the enemy's mouth licking round her sphere of defense, Neji moved further away to give her some space and weaved hand signs as fast as he could. Hinata moved gracefully as she span with her legs split apart, focusing her chakra not only out of every chakra pore but sharpening it to the very tips of her toes as well; creating deadly blades out of her feet.

More dance than attack, she flowed effortlessly with the spinning blades from Sasuke's neck to knee-height by swaying her hips and sliding from her palms in the dirt to her elbows and even to the top of her head. So fast was her spin and so vicious was the approach that Sasuke was forced to lose sight of his environment and was forced against a tree to watch the impending injury. _And yet it is so artistic!_ Neji thought to himself, easily leagues ahead of her as a ninja, but every time he has seen this jutsu in effect during training he has been powerless to evade the beauty in its speed and grace.

Sasuke, recognizing the repercussions of staying put, grabbed the handle of his chokuto and without withdrawing it charged chidori chakra all throughout the case and used the torque from his hips to cut through the base of the tree. By force of his hand Sasuke pushed the tree so hard that it did a 180 degree turn onto its head with Sasuke leaping through the brief opening and out onto the lake behind it. Hinata, with her offensive version of the heavenly spin, buzzed through the leaves and branches of the top of the tree like a chainsaw and Neji leapt past his nearly chakra-exhausted cousin out onto the water with Sasuke. The man born of hatred dashed away as quickly as possible with Neji right behind him, both leaving a trail of raining lake water behind them.

Hinata, feet mid-cut through the third of the tree that was still twisting in the air simply put a hand up to the trunk of the twirling tree and contorted herself around on top, sitting upon it to rest while watching her cousin chase the insane villain across the lake. Sasuke may have gained ground ahead of the prodigal Hyuuga, but Hinata knew there was no way to truly escape him if the battle began within close quarters. Being so close to Sasuke, Naruto's best friend and worst enemy, Hinata's thoughts trickled back to her Hokage.


	11. The Busy Hokage

As Naruto raced along the outside of the invisible line that was the Leaf's border he wondered if Sasuke really thought he could take them all. **He has become arrogant,** Was all the Kyubi had to say on the subject. Whatever Sasuke's thoughts and impression may be Naruto hoped that the group could pull off what he and Shikamaru had planned.

Heading towards the Northern border of the Leaf Village Naruto found some extra time to open his mind. Kabuto was too unpredictable and Naruto couldn't go into the fight with any expectations. He let the smells of the trees and last night's rain being disturbed by every step he took into the thick underbrush reach his nose, and the early morning sun tickle his eyes as he flew through the forest. He needed to start gathering senjutsu chakra and so he formed several shadow clones to begin doing so behind him.

Once he had reached his destination he simply hunkered down on his ass with his geta, muddy with dead leaves clinging to them, sticking in the mud. Naruto was never one for deep introspection; he had always just felt that he wasn't complex enough to need it. He was a simple man with simple goals. But today he had many things to consider: he was Hokage now, had found a lover, practically had a son to raise in Kama, he had even found the ruins of his own clan the Uzumaki and gone through it all not sure what he was looking for and found more than he could have ever expected. After a year of chasing Kabuto, mostly based on leads given by small townsfolk, with no success he had grown tired of the hunt and missed home too dearly to keep it up. When Sasuke or Kabuto were ready they would come, and knowing Kabuto he would come when Sasuke did. This was what he had planned for and although Kabuto thought it to be to his advantage to single Naruto and Sasuke out and capture them for his own purposes, the Uzumaki believed he could turn it around.

The nine-tails Jinchuuriki was unsure if what he was doing was right, 'selfish' is what she had called him, but that was in a dream. If saving Sasuke could not be done he would kill him himself but Kabuto would probably eradicate any such necessity himself. It was at this point in his ponderings that Naruto felt eyes on him.

Sasuke raced on the lake as fast as he could to get away from Neji and try to turn East so he could access the village but Neji was simply too fast, right on his tail in fact. Chidori seemed to do no good with Neji, as whenever the Uchiha used it against him Neji would see through it with his byakugan and perform revolving heaven while still managing to stay on Sasuke. The avenging Uchiha saw the futility in outrunning the Hyuuga and determined that using amaterasu, although taxing on his chakra, was the only option here. Sasuke pumped an enormous amount of chakra into one leg to get a good half a second lead on the pursuant and thrust it all out in a powerful kick into the lake's water sending him bolting forward and slightly turning at the same time. Neji saw his intent and did the same and before Sasuke could even finish facing him Neji reached out with a knife-sharp jyuuken penetrating past Sasuke's ribcage and got a good grip on his last rib and yanked on it, splitting it in half and pulling the back portion through the skin.

Sasuke screamed in pain and initiated his eternal Mangekyo Susanoo, blasting Neji backwards skipping across the water like a stone to be caught by Kiba with Tenten and Shikamaru not far behind. Sasuke scanned his surroundings briefly as he forced his rib back through the gaping hole in his side and pulled a couple of medicinal leaves from his coat with adhesive on them, slapped them over his wound and cursed loudly at the searing pain.

The number of enemies weren't right. Sasuke knew what that meant with Susanoo's only activate weak spot being directly below him and he was standing on water. He felt the presence before he had time to attack below him but managed to brace himself as Akamaru came flying out of the water below him and struck him right in the chest with Wolf Fang, clawing and attempting to bite at Sasuke's arms with no prevail. Sasuke blocked the fangs as best he could as he was launched through the air. He deactivated Susanoo and placed an explosive tag on the massive wolf's snout and kicked Akamaru away with extraordinary speed, throwing an explosive kunai at him for good measure.

Shino was by Akamaru's side before he hit the water and used his kikaichu to devour the smoking tag on the wolf's nose and Neji threw a kunai to knock away the other thrown at the beast. Kiba caught up with Akamaru as the Inuzuka's wolf transformed into a copy of the man next to him and both prowled after the Uchiha as he began to fall back down to the lake.

Swiftly making hand signs to summon his hawk again, Sasuke kept a close eye on the deadly accurate duo begin their fang over fang attack on the lake, leaving explosions of lake water in the air wherever they struck. However, right when Sasuke was going to hit the water with his palm outstretched a feminine, gloved fist hit him square in the back. An eruption of pain broke throughout his body as he was heaved forward, past the small group of gawking watchers. For a brief moment he thought he saw Kiba smirking. _They were just a diversion, I should have known better,_ was all he could think before he got a glimpse of Rock Lee appear from behind and slam him in the ribcage with a leaf whirlwind kick. Once again an explosive pain blinded him as he was dashed back across the lake water. This time there were no thoughts as Sakura hammered him in the jaw.

Sasuke passed out briefly, when he came back to he was still airborne and incredibly confused but an eminently approaching tree from above him as he fell helped him to skip past the confusion. He reached out to a branch to swing from and slid along the ground to a halt and re-evaluated his circumstances. He couldn't head straight for the village, if he went South-east he would be forced north again by the Konoha elite. They stood out on the lake and looked at him in disbelief, surprised that he was still conscious, no doubt. If he attempted to kill them first he would be too worn out to take on the rest of the village on his own, yet they had no intention of killing or capturing him. They were herding him to the North, where Naruto had gone. This was maddening to Sasuke; he wanted REVENGE, not to be part of some stupid game about saving best friends.

Naruto searched the surrounding area with his sage mode and found something that didn't belong there, Kama. Naruto shot up and sent a clone to stop Kama before he reached the soon-to-be killing grounds where Naruto sat. The boy was skilled, maybe even a chunin, but certainly not capable of even being _near_ a battle of this magnitude. A child could be swept away at the explosion of a beast bomb or who knew what Kabuto might bring to the fight.

Naruto's clone sprinted to the Southwest toward Kama, who had been following him since he left the village. _Shikamaru did train him to be a master of concealment_ Naruto thought to himself with a sly smile. It took him a moment to spot the Hatake ninja but when he did he grabbed him out of the brush more viciously than he ever had before. "Kama, I thought I told you to stay with Konohamaru and train more on your Rasengan! You need to get your ass back into the village _now!_" Naruto didn't care that he was scaring the boy with the irises of the demon fox showing and chakra bubbling up around him; he had to keep Kama safe.

Before the boy had time to respond a blast was heard in what would consequently be no-man's land. The clone grabbed Kama, curled him under his arm and leapt up the tallest tree to a good vantage point. Only one glance told him that it was too late to take Kama back himself. At least a dozen figures stood along the tree line and one of his fellow clones had been destroyed with their appearance, this he could feel rather than see.

Naruto planted Kama down on the branch below him and glared deeply into the child's eyes with the fully formed eyes of the Fox. "Kama, I need you to stay here because the path back to the gate is too dangerous now. I will take care of this and then come back and I better find you here hidden to the best of your ability. If I spot you too easily when I get back you will pay dearly with every second of free time you hope to have over the next year. _Do you understand me?_" Kama simply gulped and nodded nervously with the puppy-dog eyes of an already punished child Naruto sprouted three chakra tails and bounded from the tree branch toward the field. Once within earshot of some conversation taking place he sprouted a fourth tail and burrowed into the dirt spinning viciously fast and heading directly under the tree line. It was at this point when Kama turned back around, checked quickly to make sure his master had left and then climbed back up the tree with a grin and chuckle.

Kabuto Yakushi sat on top of a two-headed snake, slithering through the forest headed straight for Konoha when he spotted a familiar face in a small clearing. Kabuto jumped down from the serpent's head and made hand seals as the wind fluttered the hood of his robes back. Once he landed on the ground his jutsu was finished and he simply had to make the call in order to activate it. Naruto stared him down from yards away, hand in his jacket, ready to strike.

Naruto put his hand out for his one-time team leader who took it. Yamato was pulled off the ground with a grave look on his face and a scroll in his other hand. He gave it to Naruto and said, "Naruto, the Daimyo of the Fire Country is _here_. The two of you need to put and end to this. It would be a great dishonor to the Daimyo if you were to welcome him while openly breaking his law!"

Naruto scoffed at this. "Sensei you should know that there are other ways for me to handle this." He put his hands together to form a shadow clone and immediately dispersed it. "That should take care of entertaining the Daimyo!" Naruto beamed at the Mokuton user.

Yamato looked to Hinata. "Hinata-sama, I implore you to reconsider. This is a very unstable time for the Hokage, whether he's aware of it or not," He glanced back to Naruto, "He needs to solidify his position in the village before trying to rewrite the rule book."

Naruto put his hand up to Hinata to signify that he would handle this. "Yamato I appreciate your concern but I will _not_ allow anything to interfere with my time with Hinata-sama. I promise that this is something I can handle. I have dozens of clones running every aspect of the village's issues. This is like a fly compared to our money, alliance, and image issues. Not to mention those that haven't even come up yet."

Yamato sighed in failure. "Alright, Hokage, you win. Is there anything that you will need from me?"

Naruto laughed before answering. "No captain, just go back to your usual duties. Now if you don't mind, I would like to get back to talking to the lady. And next time, captain, just walk up to us. No need for the secrecy with me."

Yamato bowed and was off back to the capitol building. Hinata's head rushed with everything she had just heard. Was she threatening Naruto's position as Hokage? Yamato seemed to think so. _I wonder who else feels this way. Am I being selfish?_ She wondered to herself.

Naruto waved his hand in the air. "There's no need to worry about that stuff, I've got the greatest tactician in the world as my right-hand man to advise me in all issues and he believes there is no real problem here as long as plans go ahead as scheduled." Naruto took her hand again. "Are you really willing to let that get in the way of this?" He asked as he gazed into her eyes.

She shook her head as he started leading her down the street once again. "I just don't want to get in the way of your dream. It's almost all you've talked about since the first day I met you. If my interfered with that, I don't think I could forgive myself."

Naruto looked down at her sternly. "I've done many things I wish I could take back, many of them in the war, but I did what I had to. The same applies here as well. I have to be with you, there is no stopping that. I also have to be Hokage, and nothing will get in the way of that either."

Naruto was surprised by her response, "Okay. So what are we doing today?" She asked with a delighted smile on her face.

Naruto felt the same determination from her, like a fire burning in her heart, feeding his fire with their connected hands. "Uh…" Naruto was lost in the sensation for a moment but regained his senses. "Oh yeah! I thought lunch would be a great way to start the day, but now that I know the Daimyo is here, maybe we better make it a picnic on the outside of the village."

Hinata smirked and blushed as a thought came to mind. "I think I know the perfect place."

Some time later Hinata led the Hokage through some dense forest when he thought he heard a rumbling noise coming from where they were headed. Hinata pulled him forward almost as though she were rushing him. Naruto could feel her anticipation and met her stride. When they finally broke through the tree line into the opening he saw what she was so excited to show him.

Soaked in sunlight was a small waterfall from a ledge thirty feet high with flowers growing along the rock formation's wall. The waterfall fed into a modest-sized pond that dispensed out to a small stream. Naruto gazed at all of this in wonderment. "How could I have not known about this before?" He asked the Hyuuga heiress.

Hinata beamed at him, "Actually you had no chance until now to see it. It was made by Pain's jutsu. I guess beauty can be hidden in the ugliest of things at times." She led him to sit down in a soft spot in the grass. "Anyway, I come here all the time to train or think. I used to come here and wonder where you were or what you were doing or if you were okay. Sometimes…" She bit her lip for a moment; "Sometimes I would hate you for leaving. Hate you for taking on so much, pushing yourself too far. I knew that you could handle it; you beat Neji-san at the Chuunin exams when the odds were stacked so highly against you. After that I never doubted you again. But I didn't think you _should_ handle it." Everything was rushing out of her so fast that her head was spinning. "You always did things like that, leaving everyone else in the dust behind you. You risked your life for everyone, people you've only just met, or never even knew, you threw yourself at astounding disadvantages with- with no concern for who y- you might leave behind. Did you think n- no one cared for you? Did you think n- no one would notice? That's why I went out to f- f- fight Pain! I went out there to show you th- that there are people who love you, who would m- miss you if you died, d- damnit!"

Naruto looked stunned at Hinata's barrage speechless. He watched the tears roll down her face as she wiped away at them, her voice cracking and her words stuttering in places. She dropped her head to hide the tears and thrust herself onto him as she wept. He lay on the ground with her shivering on top of him, shaking with her cries. He wrapped his arms around her because for the moment he had nothing to say.

She craned her neck up to look down at him, saw the tear-stained jacket and briefly laughed before giving into the tears and shuddering. It was then that she began to kiss him. Her hands on the sides of his face gripped him madly as she pressed her face against his again and again with vicious, hungry kisses. Naruto kissed back and without knowing who opened their mouth first, a tongue entered her mouth and the two began to squirm against one another, rolling in the grass, tongues dancing at the delight of the other's presence. Naruto shed his Hokage jacket, Hinata her shoes, Naruto ripped off his shirt, Hinata unlaced her Kimono's back with a tug of a string. All of this in the twisting, writhing joy of each other's touch and never parting lips.

Hinata pulled the tie out of her hair and it fell loosely around Naruto's face when she rolled back on top of him. He immediately ran his hand through the silky lavender hair, gently rubbing his fingers along the back of her head sensually. Hinata's hands slid up and down Naruto's hard chest and abs. The lean Hokage felt like marble under her soft fingertips and Naruto shivered under her touch. Naruto's kiss strayed from his partner's mouth to her neck and Hinata moaned at the sensation of his tongue gliding past her neck to the collar and back up again. He rolled over on top of her and kicked his geta off as he buried his face in the nape of her neck and bit gently into it. Hinata bent her neck far the other way to give him better access as she swooned under the feel of his nibbling and sucking against her neck. She pulled her kimono down to display the pink bra underneath and Naruto helped pull the rest of the way down. She jumped on top of him and slid her tongue behind his earlobe and began sucking on it as she untied his pants. She kissed down his chest as she pulled his pants down, ending at his belt-line when he kicked the pants away into the pond, leaving only his boxer-briefs on.

She tilted her head up, gasping as she tried to catch her breath, and looked to Naruto. He looked back down to her as he panted like an animal, feeling a total loss of control. They stared at each other for a moment before she leapt back up to him and kissed him passionately for another moment or so, grinding up against him. Feeling his hands press her into him, those hands slowly slide down her body to her hips. The hands passed the hips and she managed enough control to pull away from his lips. He stopped all motion, fearing he had gone too far, immediately. She breathed heavily as she rested her forehead on his. Naruto did the same as he moved his hands back up to her hips, barely able to cage the animal-like want to have her right then and there, and squeezed her hips. She rolled over onto the smooth, dewy grass and they gazed into each other's eyes for a long time like that; laying there gasping for breath.

Naruto grinned at her and Hinata began laughing uncontrollably and the Uzumaki joined in. Hinata leaned on her elbow and looked him up and down when the laughing subsided. Naruto did likewise. They were both lost in the total privacy of this little paradise, the freedom it allowed them. Hinata got off the ground and said, "I think I need to cool down." She ran and jumped into the middle of the clear pond. Naruto followed her into the water and swam close to her. She teasingly swam away, giggling and splashing away from him. He laughed and ducked under the water and disappeared in the dust kicked up by the two. Hinata looked around for a moment and then decided to activate her Byakugan but it was too late. Naruto darted up from the water, gripped her hips and tossed her into the air. Hinata landed on the top of the water, without falling through. Naruto pulled himself out and also walked on the water back to the grass.

Hinata peeked over her shoulder with a concerned look as her Byakugan was deactivated. "You know, you talked about us having a picnic but we don't have anything to eat!"

Naruto held his stomach as it growled. He made a scowl at it. "So I'm not the only hungry one, that's good." He made a shadow clone, fully clothed of course, and they watched it run off back to the village.

Naruto smiled weakly at her as he gripped his stomach. "That should take care of that." He said. "He's gone off to get us some ramen and sushi. You like sushi, right?"

Hinata nodded and said, "Uh-huh" absentmindedly while she looked around on the ground for her hair tie. Finally after finding it she squeezed the water out of her and tied it back up. "I'm sorry Naruto-sama, I don't know what came over me."

Naruto chuckled and smirked, "You mean what came over _us_. And I think I know that that was."

Hinata blushed as she saw him look over her again and she did the same. "That's not what I mean. What I said. I didn't mean that I hated you. I could never hate you Naruto-sama. I only wanted you to hear my side of things. You are always so forward about everything and I always bottle things up and usually take them out on myself. I-"

"Don't take a word of what you said back." He said with a hand up, "I understand all of it. I felt that way when I found out my father was the Fourth. I even punched him!" Hinata didn't understand his meaning but listened to him nonetheless. Naruto sighed before saying, "I know that I can't take it back, but I hope to make up for it." He said in a regretful tone.

Hinata felt a rush of warmth at hearing the perfect words for what she needed to hear. When the clone returned he brought a large amount of food, not just what he was sent to get. "The merchants just kept throwing things at me!" The clone explained. He also brought blankets, towels, and some drinks. Neither Hinata nor Naruto wanted to put their clothes back on. They didn't even think about it. They ate and talked for some time, in near nudity. No shame or embarrassment. They simply enjoyed each other's presence.

Before long they were talking about the Nine-tails again and Hinata's expression changed to that of concern. "I think you have something to tell me. What did he _really_ mean when he asked me if I knew you?"

Naruto stared at her for a moment and frowned. "I never intended to keep it from you, I just didn't feel like it was the right time. It's about what I told you yesterday morning on the balcony. You see, I told you that the secret to my technique is reabsorbing my clone's chakra using Sage techniques but that's not the real secret. I'm not the original, Hinata."

Hinata looked a little bothered by this as she furrowed her brows together. "You mean you sent a clone with me today?" She asked, annoyed.

Naruto shook his head. "No. I mean, there _is_ no original anymore."


End file.
